Wolves Suspected in Death of 22-year-old Ontario Man

Last week, the body of 22-year-old Kenton Joel Carnegie was found near Wollaston Lake in Northern Saskatchewan mauled to death by what is suspected to have been wolves.

"All of the injuries discovered in the autopsy are consistent with animal bites. But you can't completely rule everything out until the investigation is complete," Heather Russel, spokesperson for the RCMP told CBC.

Although the type of animal bite has not been confirmed, suspicions run high that they were that of wolves. Tracks were found near the body, and locals have been reporting a growing number of close encounters with wolves.

Carnegie was working in the area at a mining plant at Points North Landing. His death follows on the heels of a verified wolf attack earlier this year involving Fred Desjarlais, who was attacked by a wolf in the same area. Fortunately Desjarlais survived the encounter by fighting the animal off with help from others.

Wayne Galloway, an outfitter near Wollaston Lake told CBC reporters that he wouldn’t at all be surprised if wolves were responsible for Carnegie’s death. He claims to have seen an increase in the number of wolves in the area and a decrease in the numbers of their prey.

Scientists say that just one verified instance of wolf attack to be found is surprising. For two incidences of wolf attack, especially one resulting in death, to occur in the same area is an astonishing anomaly.

The Alaska Fish and Game Department conducted a study of wolf attacks in Canada and Alaska in 2002 and found that no human deaths had been attributed to wolves for over 100 years.

Some conservationists are concerned that the bad press on wolves from the Northern Saskatchewan events may bring the ‘big bad wolf’ myth back to life. As a predator of human livestock, wolves have often been characterized by legends and fairy tales as savage and villainous. Consequently the animals have become all be extinct in many parts of the world.

Scientists now understand, however, that a healthy wolf will stay completely clear of humans under normal circumstances. It is generally rare for people even in areas with dense wolf poplations to ever catch a glimpse of the animal.

“The scientific fact is that I still know of no verified incidence of attack from a healthy wolf on a person,” says Monte Hummel, president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada. “This image of wolves tracking people by night is just Garbage.”

The few documented wolf attacks here in Canada, most of which have occurred in Algonquin park in Ontario, have involved habituated wolves that had been fed frequently by people, have had access to garbage or have been repeatedly approached by humans.

Paul Paquet, a well-respected wildlife biologist in Saskatchewan, was involved in the investigation of the wolf attack on Desjarlais. The investigation found wildlife management in the area and human naivety may have been to blame for the attack.

“The clear and common thread with all of these attacks is that these are wolves that are habituated with humans and are either being fed or have access to garbage that is not being secured,” says Paquet, adding that such wolves can become aggressive in their demands for garbage.

“This is a human related problem … we are not managing the people who work there. Even with the First Nations, their controlled garbage situation is very poor and then when you add naïve individuals in to the situation…I think what needs to be done is better management of humans and better informed humans.”