Kenton Joel Carnegie wolf attack

Infobox_Person
name = Kenton Joel Carnegie


image_size =
caption =
other_names =
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birth_date = birth date|1983|02|11
birth_place = Ajax, Ontario, Canada
death_date = death date and age|2005|11|05|1983|02|11
death_place =Points North Landing, Saskatchewan, Canada
death_cause = Killed by grey wolvesThe Kenton Joel Carnegie wolf attack was a fatal wolf attack on Kenton Joel Carnegie (born February 11 1983), a Canadian geological engineering student who was killed on Tuesday November 8 2005 in Points North Landing, Saskatchewan.

Although there were no eyewitnesses to the attack, wolves were found feeding on Carnegie's body, and there had been numerous prior incidents in the area of wolves acting aggressively toward people. The first, official investigation was headed by wolf biologist Paul Paquet, who concluded that the killer had been an American black bear, rather than wolves."Review of Investigative Findings Relating to the Death of Kenton Carnegie at Points North, Saskatchewan" by Dr. Paul Paquet, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and Dr. Ernest G. Walker, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 08 August 2008] Later, private investigations by ethologist Valerius Geist, wildlife biologist Brent Patterson and wolf biologist Mark McNay strengthened the case for the wolf theory. Despite contradictions between the official and private investigations, all parties agreed that the wolves inhabiting the area were habituated to humans through regular visits to an illegal landfill.

The investigation on Carnegie's death lasted two years, and provoked intense debate on wolf conservation in the area, as well as putting into question the popular notion of healthy wild wolves being harmless to humans.

Prior events in Saskatchewan

On December 31st, 2004 near Camenco’s Key Lake Mine in northern Saskatchewan, 55 year old miner Fred Desjarlais, went for a jog on a bush road. He was confronted by a snarling wolf, which he attempted to frighten off by shouting and standing his ground. The wolf lunged at him and repeatedly bit his right arm and torso. Desjarlais was rescued by workers, who chased off the wolf. Saskatchewan Environment staff shot and killed a wolf suspected to be the attacker days later. A necropsy showed that the animal was healthy, and had no sign of the rabies virus in its brain. Wildlife experts from the Environment Department concluded that the animal had become habituated to humans after feeding extensively in a nearby garbage dump. [http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/wolves/3.html The miner and the wolf: A survivor's story]

During the late summer and autumn months of 2005, the Points North dump site was commonly frequented by a pack of four wolves, which could occasionally be spotted along the airstrip adjacent to the camp. According to testimony from the camp workers, the wolves at the dump frequently disregarded the presence of workers, and would adjust their arrival with that of the front-end loader, tearing into the garbage bags the moment they hit the ground. The wolves were apparently uninhibited by the presence of people or loud machinery.On November 4th 2005, Todd Svarckopf and Chris Van Galder, who were stationed at the Points North camp near Wollaston Lake, decided to walk out to a nearby junkyard to look at abandoned aircraft. Whilst passing through a forested area, the two were approached by a dark wolf only a few hundred meters from the camp compound. The two men attempted to walk back to the camp, but the wolf walked directly up to Todd, who yelled at it. The animal reatreated a few steps, but pressed forward as the men walked away, closely followed by lighter coloured wolf. The dark wolf moved directly toward Chris, and did not retreat when he yelled at it. When Todd turned around to face Chris, the lighter coloured wolf advanced toward his back, retreating only when Todd turned to face it. The two armed themselves with spruce sticks, and kept the wolves at bay with swinging motions. The two men moved toward the edge of the brush line along the runway, with the wolves following, but keeping out of reach of the sticks. The wolves positioned themselves between the men and the runway, in what was described as a seeming attempt at herding them back into the heavier cover. The two men moved out of the forest and onto the open runway with the wolves still following them as they headed back to camp. The wolves were kept at bay with the sticks, and only left when the two arrived at the camp compound. Several photos were taken by Chris near the end of the encounter. The entire incident lasted 10–15 minutes. Upon being interviewed, they unanimously reported that the wolves never growled or barked as wolves defending territory or feeling threatened usually do, but snapped their teeth and jaws. The two tried to warn their coworkers at the camp about the wolves, but were humorously accused of teasing them.

Disappearance and subsequent discovery

Carnegie was on his fall co-op term in his third year of geological engineering at the University of Waterloo. He and a colleague were in the Athabasca basin performing airborne surveying work for Ottawa-based Sander Geophysics. A few days before his death, Carnegie wanted to go for a walk, but was discouraged by Svarchopf and van Gelder, who told him of their encounter a few days prior.cite web | url= http://wolfcrossing.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/dr-valarius-geist-re-carnegie-ii.pdf
title= Statement by Valerius Geist pertaining to the death of Kenton Carnegie | publisher= Wolf Crossing| accessdate= 2008-08-29] cite web | url= http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=75747&sc=4
title= Victim was gifted and smart: father | publisher= Prince Albert Daily Herald| accessdate= 2008-08-26] On November 5 at roughly 15:30, Carnegie went for a walk by himself, stating that he would return by 17:00. At 19:00, he had not returned, and Van Gelder and Svarchopf called Mark Eikel, part owner of the Points North camp to assist them in their search. After scouring the camp, the trio noticed Kenton's tracks leading outside the camp and followed them. Whilst following the prints, the men noticed wolf tracks, and returned to the camp to get a rifle before continuing their search. Kenton's mutilated body was found soon after by Eikel outside the camp grounds, 35 miles northwest of Wollaston Lake.cite web | url= http://lists.miningwatch.ca/pipermail/news/2005-November/000310.html| title= Saskatchewan gov't denies wolf attack| publisher= Miningwatch.ca| accessdate= 2008-07-30] Wolves were seen in the vicinity of the body, so the men retreated and called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).cite web | url= http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/wolves/2.html | title= The death of Kenton Carnegie | publisher= CBC Saskatchewan| accessdate= 2008-07-30] Upon arriving, two wolves were seen near the body, and only left when frightened off with shotgun blasts.

Rosalie Tsannie, the province’s coroner for the north who had also arranged the removal of Carnegie's body, gave a hypothetical reconstruction of what happened based on what was found. Carnegie had walked from the camp, and by the time he was a kilometre away in the vicinity of a frozen lake, a wolf began following his tracks. The snow tracks indicated that Carnegie at that moment quickened his pace, with two more wolves chasing him from the sides. The first struggle occurred seven feet from where the chase began, with four more scuffle sites being found leading to where his body was discovered. It was apparent that Carnegie fought hard, and repeatedly got on his feet before finally succumbing.

Investigation

Official investigation

The official government investigation was headed by wolf biologist Paul Paquet, who overlooked Kenton's autopsy, which was performed by Dr. Ernest G. Walker of the University of Saskatchewan. Paquet stated that Kenton's injuries were consistent with those expected in a predatory animal attack, and that the only candidates were wolves and American black bears, as grizzly bears, cougars and dogs were not known to frequent the Points North area. In his report, Paquet stated that the wolves shown in the photographs taken by Chris Van Gelder were relaxed, and clearly not behaving agressively. Paquet stated that the evidence pointed to approximately four wolves, based on blood and tracks present in the area. Two wolves from the area were killed by Investigating conservation officers and taken for examination to the University of Saskatchewan. One of the wolves, a black and white 48 kg (106 lb) male, estimated to be 4-5 years of age, was found to have undigested fabric and flesh resembling human remains within its colon and rectum. There was no trace of the rabies virus within its brain, nor was there any morphological indication suggesting it was a wolf-dog hybrid. The animal itself was described in the necropsy report as being very fat, well muscled and in excellent nutritional condition. [ [http://www.wolf.org/wolves/news/live_news_detail.asp?id=1340 Four Wolves Suspected in Man’s Death in Remote Area of Canada] ] cite web | url= http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/wolves/images/wolves1-2.pdf | title= November 18th necropsy report on one of the wolves | publisher= Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Center| accessdate= 2008-09-10] Paquet however rejected the possibility of wolves being the killers and argued that the evidence pointed to the culprit being a black bear, and that the wolves were simply scavenging on Kenton's body. Although he claimed that "no definitive animal sign was evident in any of the images taken the night of the accident", he stated bear tracks were visible on the photos of the surrounding area, and that the wolves covered up the rest of the bears tracks in the process of eating Kenton's body. Paquet stated that as the body had apparently been dragged for what he claimed was over 50-60 meters, this pointed to an ursid culprit.cite web | url= http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=113&articleID=1439 | title= Sexy Beasts | publisher= National Wildlife Federation | accessdate= 2008-09-29|format=HTML] He conceded however that due to the scarcity of documented wolf attacks on the continent, it would be difficult to discern what a wolf attack would look like.cite web | url= http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=6b6f8d4c-fae6-4fe3-a9e1-b8fffded6b69&k=97862| title= Expert says man killed by bear, not wolves| publisher= Canada.com | accessdate= 2008-07-30] Paquet also pointed to the fact that Kenton's heart, lungs and liver were intact, stating that wolves usually eat those organs first. Paul Paquet was quoted in an issue of the "National Wildlife" magazine;

The time of day of the attack was also claimed to be further evidence of bear predation;

Paquet also claimed to see claw marks on the body, something inconsistent with wolves, which attack with their teeth. He stated that the animal that dragged Carnegie's body was strong enough to break his belt, after it got caught on a tree stump. The fact that the body had not been disarticulated was labelled as further evidence against wolves being the killers, as wolves will often remove and scatter pieces of their prey. Paquet mentioned that it was difficult to discern the perpetrator's species through examining the bite marks, as a small black bear will leave near identical marks as a similairly sized wolf. He dismissed interviews with the local constable and coroner, as well as members of the search party, due to his belief that eyewitnesses were “notoriously unreliable”.cite web | url= http://www.wolfsongnews.org/news/Alaska_current_events_2448.html| title= Fairbanks wolf expert helps debunk Canadian bear attack theory| publisher= newsminer.com | accessdate= 2008-07-30] Paquet's report listed 14 experts that were consulted, including well known wolf and bear biologists in North America and Europe, though it failed to identify which of those experts actually examined the evidence.

Paquet's statement was met with criticism on a number of fronts. Todd Svarchopf, Chris Van Galder, Mark Eikel and Bob Burseth, who were the first four witnesses, saw the scene before it was disturbed by repeat visits by themselves and later visits from the coroner, two game wardens and the RCMP. All of whom were interviewed separately, and unanimously stated that the animals they saw on the scene, as well as the tracks in the snow, were wolves. Bob Burseth, a hunter who was frequently hired to track down problem bears and had lived in the area for 17 years, confirmed upon being questioned that had bears been in the area, he would have known. He also stated that he knew the differences between bear and wolf tracks, and that on that day, he saw only wolf prints. Constable Rosalie Tsannie-Ruseth, an aboriginal who was raised in a nomadic hunter lifestyle before attending studies, found no bear tracks. In addition, Constable Noey, an RCMP officer, saw that some wolf prints were placed directly within Kenton's prints, a behaviour taken by wolves stalking prey. Conservation Officers Kelly Crayne and Mario Gaudet wrote in their report “Officers investigated the site and found numerous wolf tracks in the area. No other large animal tracks could be found.” Bears had not been sighted in the area for over a month, as the death occurred during their annual hibernation cycle.

Private investigation

Dissatisfied with the government inquiry, Kenton's family began spending scarce funds for an independent investigation and hired Harold Johnson, a Native American lawyer and tracker. Upon investigating the case, Johnson concluded that wolves were the culprits. [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/10/29/carnegie-kenton.html]

After reading Paquet's report in August 2006, Kenton's family approached Ontario Government wildlife expert Brent Petterson, to assess the evidence given by Paquet pointing to a bear culprit. Although Patterson corresponded with Paquet, and was initially convinced by his findings, he changed his views upon examining photographs and reports. Upon looking at the photograph showing what Patterson assumed were the bear tracks indicated by Paquet, Patterson noted that the snow in which they occurred was heavily slushed, and that a clear wolf print was present on a nearby rock, following the travel direction of the tracks. This indicated they were made by the same animal. Patterson wrote that to assume human activity after Kenton’s death may have obscured bear but not wolf tracks was unreasonable. Regarding the body's lack of disarticulation, Patterson stated that such a process only occurs after wolves have eaten all available soft tissues, which had yet to occur with Kenton. Patterson also noted that lacerations on Kenton's right forearm, which were identified by Paquet as claw marks, had flesh pulled out of them. Patterson wrote that this damage was more likely to have been caused by the canine teeth of a wolf, feeding on or dragging the body. Patterson found that the drag distance of the body reported by Paquet was inconsistent to that reported by Constable Noey, who wrote that the body had been dragged only 20 meters. He also found that contrary to what Paquet wrote regarding the breaking of Kenton's belt, there was no evidence of a belt on the photographs taken by the RCMP, nor was a belt mentioned in the personal effects list of the victim's necropsy report. Patterson wrote that Kenton was wearing line nylon trousers, which do not have belt loops. Patterson concluded that the removal of Kenton's trousers, rather than being the deliberate act of a bear, could have occurred entirely due to wolves dragging his body and getting them caught on the tree stump. He saw no other evidence of clothing having been “peeled” off rather than simply ripped or torn during feeding."Re: Review of evidence pertaining to the death of Kenton Carnegie", Brent Patterson, Trent University, Wildlife Research & Development Section]

Working under a suggestion by Patterson, Kenton's family later approached wolf biologist Mark McNay on January 18 2007, who at the time, worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game."A Review of Evidence and Findings Related to the Death of Kenton Carnegie on November 8, 2005 Near Points North, Saskatchewan" by Mark E. McNay, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fairbanks, Alaska, May 25, 2007] Three years prior, McNay studied 80 events in Alaska and Canada where wolves closely approached or attacked people, finding 39 cases of aggression by apparently healthy wolves, and 29 cases of fearless behavior by non-aggressive wolves.cite web | url=http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/pubs/techpubs/research_pdfs/techb13p1.pdf | title= A Case History of Wolf-Human Encounters in Alaska and Canada| publisher= Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Technical Bulletin | accessdate= 2008-08-17] After looking at the photographs of both the body and the area around it, Mark found the argument in favour of a bear culprit to be weak. He argued in his report that black bears at the time would have been hibernating 12 days before the attack occurred. Even if a bear was still active, it would have had an ample food supply from the nearby landfill 2 km from the kill site. Despite this, none of the camp employees saw bears or bear tracks, neither the month before or after the attack took place. He countered Paquet's claim that wolf attacks on humans do not occur in the evening or the autumn season by pointing out that wolf attacks had been documented in both Ontario and Alaska during the late summer/autumn season and during evening hours. He also cited examples from Hazaribagh, India, in which children were recorded to have been attacked at dusk. After finding out about the dump site near the camp, and hearing the testimony of camp workers that wolves would consume garbage in full view of people, McNay read Todd Svarckopf's testimony on the non-lethal wolf attack four days prior to Kenton's death. He concluded that the behaviour of the wolves was consistent with food conditioned animals that had been fed, and expected a food reward. He argued that had the wolves felt fearful or threatened, they would have simply trotted away. In contrast, the behaviour of one of the wolves described in the testimony and shown in the photographs was indicative of a wolf in an aroused state and capable of an attack. After looking at the tracks shown in the photographs taken by the RCMP, he affirmed that he could not see any bear tracks. He stated that any similarity in the shape of any of those tracks to a either a bear or wolf foot was purely coincidental, due to the overflow obliterating the true foot shape. He also stated that the assumption that a bear made the tracks could be disproven by the direction they were heading. If it was a bear, the triangular shape of the tracks would have indicated that the animal was moving toward the position of the photographer, but close examination revealed that the animal was traveling away from that direction. This was confirmed after McNay showed the photographs to 5 experienced Alaskan Pilots and wolf trackers, three of which were biologists of the ADFG, while the other two formerly worked as wolf survey pilots in Yellowstone National Park. McNay gave additional evidence for wolves making the prints by describing their track pattern;

Quotation|“Although the shape of the tracks and the direction of travel both suggest the tracks in Photo 978 were not made by a bear, the most conclusive evidence for wolf tracks is found in the track pattern. Wolves have a narrow chest and their tracks fall close to the center line of the animal. The tracks in Photo 978 are very close to the centerline, bear tracks would be more wide apart. Also the tracks are in pairs, that is the typical track of canids moving at a trot or fast walk. Bears either walk, lope,or run more commonly leaving single tracks or tracks that fall in sets of 4. The track pattern in Photo 978 is entirely consistent with wolves, but is inconsistent with bear tracks. Given the effects of overflow, the track shape becomes irrelevant, but the pattern of the tracks is typical of a trotting canid.”|"A Review of Evidence and Findings Related to the Death of Kenton Carnegie on November 8, 2005 Near Points North, Saskatchewan" by Mark E. McNay, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fairbanks, Alaska, May 25, 2007

Mark noted that Carnegie's body lacked the severe head trauma and broken bones characteristic of a fatal bear attack. He argued that the areas of Kenton's body where flesh had been removed were inconsistent with bear feeding patterns; most of the stomach and intestines were eaten, and a large portion of the muscle mass from the ribs to the knees was consumed. From this, McNay pointed out that bears feed alone, and victims usually have only one area of their body eaten, whereas those of wolves, which feed collectively, will have multiple areas of their body consumed, as in Kenton's case. He then argued that the amount of flesh consumed in the short time of the victim's death (estimated to be 70–80 lb of what was once 145 lb) made a bear more unlikely;

Regarding the inversion of Kenton's pants, McNay pointed out that the eyewitnesses who first found Kenton's body claimed that his pants were still on when they arrived. It was only when they returned with the RCMP 2 hours and twenty minutes later that the pants were partially removed. In both cases, wolves were at the scene, and McNay found that the pants had been removed accidentally after it got caught on a tree stump whilst being dragged. In response to Paquet's assertion that wolves do not drag victims, McNay cited five cases in Canada and Alaska, as well as 195 cases from India where wolves attempted to carry off their human victims when rescuers arrived. After reviewing Constable Noey's description of the tracks within attack site, he found them consistant with those of a long struggle characteristic of wolf attacks;

McNay noted that had a black bear killed Kenton, only to have it usurped by wolves, there would have been a lengthy period of confrontation between the animals; resulting in well represented tracks around the kill site. He argued that Paquet's organ theory was flawed, because wolves and bears will eat all organs given the chance, and the wolves had been interrupted whilst feeding. Also, seeing as Kenton was likely their first human victim, it would have been impossible to extrapolate normal, specific feeding behaviours.

Ethologist Dr. Valerius Geist of the University of Calgary Alberta, who had himself experienced aggressive behaviour from wolves in his home on Vancouver Island began investigating case in the Winter of 2006. Upon examining the photographs taken by Todd Svarchopf and Chris van Gelder, he found that one of the animals had exposed canines, a raised upper lip, the corners of its mouth slightly opened and ears pitched forward. The wolf was positioned in a slight crouch with its hind legs braced for a lunge forward. The tail was held in a position bordering on neutral/confident. Its eyes were also averted, which in wolf communication is done by confident, domineering individuals. He stated that rather than a defensive posture usually taken by wolves feeling threatened, it was one of assertive aggression with no hint of fear or insecurity. Finnish biologist Kaarlo Nygrén of the Game and Fisheries Research Institute of Ilomantsi gave a similar conclusion on examining the photographs. Geist also examined photographs of where Kenton died, and notes given by the RCMP on Kenton's movements reconstructed from tracks. Geist found the bear hypothesis more doubtful upon reading that Kenton was repeatedly knocked down and got up before dying. This, he reasoned, would make a bear unlikely, as bears are adept at pinning down prey and preventing them from standing. Geist also pointed to the fact that bears, after making a kill, usually drag it into heavy brush to eat in peace, whereas Carnegie was immediately eaten in the open after he died; a behaviour consistent with wolves. Geist responded to Paquet's statement that only a bear would have dragged Kenton's body, by pointing out that the body was only seen to be dragged after the RCMP officers arrived on the scene, added to the fact that the body was not hidden in vegetation as a bear would have done. Upon looking at the photographs showing tracks surrounding Kenton's body, Geist was only able to confirm that they belonged to large canids of varying size, with no sign of bear tracks. Geist sent copies of the photographs of the scene to European biologists Dr. Eirik Granqvist of Borgå, Sweden and Dr. Nygrén. Upon inspecting the photos, they both came to the same conclusion, responding;

Quotation|“PICT0989: human and wolf tracks, struggle, blood. Snow has been fallen some days earlier, blown away from the dwarf shrubs and melted some when in contact with dark objects. Ideal conditions for tracking. PICT0985: Path with human and wolf tracks. Beside it some tracks of a man, signs of struggle, blood. Snow as in previous picture. PICT0986: Human and wolf tracks, blood, struggle. Snow as in previous pictures. PICT0987: Human and wolf tracks, struggle. One mid-size -to large wolf tracks coming towards the scene, four wolf tracks going out of it: one large, two mid-size, one small. Another track of a small canid (possibly also wolf) going to the left. No clear blood. Snow as in previous pictures. I failed to see anything resembling bear tracks in any of the pictures.”|Kaarlo Nygrén, Game and FisheriesResearch Institute, Ilomantsi Game Research Station

Geist was unable to find any evidence of bear predation on the body, based on the nature of the bite marks. In his report, he wrote that contrary to Paquet's statement that “The clothes and skin been stripped away, indicating the so-called banana-peel eating technique common to bears”, the skin had not been peeled back. The photography revealed typical wolf inflicted injuries, including clean cuts, and slices cut somewhat at right angles to the bones, consistent with carnassials cutting the tissue. Black bears on the other hand pluck flesh with their incisors, as their molars are blunt and are evolved for crushing rather than slicing. Geist, upon observing the amount of missing tissue concluded that in the three hours before the body's discovery, at least three and possibly four wolves had fully fed on 35-40 kg (77-88 lb) of body mass. A black bear would have been unlikely to have consumed that much body tissue in the short time available. In response to Paquets statement that intact organs disproved wolf involvement, Geist pointed to his own observations and those of Russian and European scientists, citing cases in which some wolf packs preferred to consume the fat deposits first, as had been the case with Carnegie.

Verdict

The government report came out in the summer of 2006 before any Coroners report was issued. An Inquest date of February 2007 was then called by the Chief Coroner, who was not a Saskatchewan-based doctor. Disclosure was delayed until January 2007, during which time was withheld between the Coroner, Crown lawyer, and the Kenton's parents. The witness List was not divulged until after the February date had passed, and did not include Harold Johnson. The pathologist at the time was on vacation and was not called. The inquest was then rescheduled for 29 October 2007. On November 1 2007, a six member coroners jury finally concluded that wolves had been the culprits after three days of testimony and examinations of photographs of Kenton's body.cite web | url= http://www.thestar.com/News/article/276591| title= Parents find peace in jury's findings| publisher= TheStar.com | accessdate= 2008-07-30] cite web | url= http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=76887&sc=4| title= Wolves killed student: jury| publisher= Prince Albert Daily Herald | accessdate= 2008-07-30]

Aftermath

On spring 2006, National Geographic Channel covered the event in an hour long episode of Hunter Hunted entitled "Shadow Stalkers", the end credits of which listed Paul Paquet and SERM (Saskatchewan Environment Resource Management). The documentary displayed numerous inaccuracies. The documentary condemned Todd Svarchopf and Chrisvan Gelder as having provoked the wolves they encountered on November 4th. Brent Patterson pointed out that the documentary completely ignored the facts that it was the wolves which initiated the encounter, and that the wolves could have retreated any time into the brush had they felt threatened by the men.

Paul Paquet stood by his initial black bear theory, stating that "The jury's decision was a poor one, which I'd put in the same category as 'O.J. Simpson is innocent..". He continued to cite the choice of organs consumed from the body as evidence against wolves, and further stated that it is not true that bears at that period would have been hibernating.cite web | url= http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/newsmakers/experts/november2007| title= Questions arise in case of wolves killing man| publisher= University of Calgary | accessdate= 2008-09-18]

Valerius Geist launched criticism on the official investigation, stating that it was too focused on establishing Carnegie’s cause of death, whilst ignoring wider policy issues such as the failure of some wolf biologists to notice that the wolves of that area had been acting in an unusually bold manner toward humans before the attack, and that there was no real action taken to tackle the circumstances which lead to the attack; freely available human waste added to a scarcity of natural prey, stated by Geist to be a result of increased wolf populations.cite web | url= http://westinstenv.org/wildpeop/2008/02/17/wolves-are-targeting-humans-as-prey/ | title= Wolves Are Targeting Humans As Prey| publisher= Western Institute for Study of the Environment | accessdate= 2008-07-30] He also criticised the wildlife officials of the area for taking no action against wolves clearly showing signs of habituation to humans until it was too late. He pointed to the fact that wolves had been sighted in the area weeks before Carnegie's death, and would frequently feed at the Point North garbage dump whilst ignoring workers. This he argued, caused the wolves to no longer see humans as a source of fear, but of food. In conclusion to his report, he wrote;

Kenton's father, Kim, expressed concern that the Saskatchewan Environments plan to stop further wolf attacks were inadequate, and did not address the problem of landfills which were thought to have been fed upon by the wolves, causing them to become habituated to humans. He stated that the best measure would be to incinerate the garbage, rather than abandon it.cite web | url= http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/02/11/wolves-death.html| title= Province's plan inadequate, father of wolf attack victim says| publisher= CBCNews.ca | accessdate= 2008-07-30]

James Swan, outdoorsman and author of "In Defence of Hunting" compared the Carnegie event to the death of Timothy Treadwell.cite web | url= http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/story?columnist=swan_james&id=3068815 | title= Dangerous neighbors| publisher= ESPN | accessdate= 2008-08-26]

ee also

*Patricia Wyman wolf attack
*Azaria Chamberlain disappearance
*San Francisco Zoo tiger attacks
*Timothy Treadwell
*Tsavo maneaters

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.mtechservices.ca/Kenton/Kenton.html Kenton Joel Carnegie Memorial]
* [http://wolfcrossing.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/carnegie-no1.pdf Statement by Valerius Geist pertaining to the death of Kenton Carnegie]
* [http://wolfcrossing.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/dr-valarius-geist-re-carnegie-ii.pdf Statement by Valerius Geist pertaining to the death of Kenton Carnegie, Part II]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/wolves/index.html CBC Saskatchewan-Features-A Dangerous Mix]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/wolves/images/wolves1-2.pdf November 18th necropsy report on one of the wolves]