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Experts Reassure Public Following Rare Fatal Wolf Attack

December 30, 2005

Following the recent death of a Canadian man from an apparent wolf attack, experts at the International Wolf Center say that wolf attacks remain extremely rare and usually occur after people feed wolves or allow wolves to eat garbage.

While hiking in remote Northern Saskatchewan in early November, 22-year-old geology student Kenton Joel Carnegie was apparently killed by a pack of four wolves. If an ongoing investigation confirms that wolves were the cause of death, it will be the first recorded instance of healthy, wild wolves killing a human in North America. The Canadian wildlife biologist conducting the investigation has found evidence that residents in the area may have been feeding the wolves thought to be responsible for Carnegie's death.

A few organizations and publications are using the incident to raise the alarm that there will be many more attacks and people should be afraid. Scientists disagree.

"Fatal wolf attacks have always been, and will continue to be, extraordinarily rare events," says Dr. L. David Mech, founder of the non-profit International Wolf Center and a wolf biologist with the United States Geological Survey. "Mr. Carnegie's death is a terrible tragedy but one fatal wolf attack in the recorded history of North America does not warrant widespread alarm."

Though this was the first recorded fatal attack in North America, researchers have documented 26 non-fatal attacks, most of which resulted in only minor injuries. The common factor in 21 of those attacks as well as Carnegie's death is wolves that received human food.

According to the Center, wolves are generally shy animals that fear humans and tend to avoid human-inhabited areas. Wolves can lose their aversion to people, however, when they have frequent close contact with humans and receive food rewards for their boldness. Once this happens, wolves are much more likely to approach humans and human-populated areas. This leads to trouble for wolves and people.

"When we teach wolves to lose their fear of humans or associate humans with food the chances of conflict greatly increase," said Dr. Mech. "The results can include dead pets, dead wolves, and, very rarely, attacks on people."

Wolves are not the only animals that cause problems when fed or taught not to fear people. Garbage bears and raccoons are the most infamous examples but the problem is also seen in deer, geese, rodents and countless other animals.

Though still rare, wolf attacks are increasing as expanding human populations move into wolf country and collide with wolf populations that are also expanding in many places. Of the 27 documented wolf attacks in North America, all but five occurred between 1970 and the present. "It is predictable," says Mech. "People and wolves are living closer together, a small but increasing number of wolves are being fed and learning not to fear people, and the number of wolf attacks is increasing accordingly. We do need to pay attention to this trend but we also have to maintain perspective that wolf attacks will always be rare relative to the other risks we face in daily life."

Fortunately, people can take action to ensure that wolf attacks remain rare. Experts at the Center recommend that people follow three simple guidelines:

• Do not feed wolves. Do not leave food outdoors, including pet food. Do not offer food to wolves from a vehicle or a residence.
• Do everything you can to avoid teaching wolves not to fear people. Do not let wolves get close to you, and do not let them learn to be comfortable in human-inhabited areas. If a wolf approaches, try to scare it off by making loud noises and making yourself appear larger with coats or other objects.
• Report wolves that seek human food or frequent human areas to wildlife officials. Do not take the law in your own hands. It is illegal and dangerous to try to kill or injure wolves in the lower 48 states. Wildlife officials can teach problem wolves to avoid humans and, if necessary, kill animals that cause severe problems.

In the contiguous United States, gray wolf populations have been reestablished through federal wolf recovery programs in the Lake Superior region, Northern Rockies, and an area straddling the border of central Arizona and New Mexico. About 5,000 wolves presently roam these areas with nearly 4,000 in the Lake Superior region alone.

For more information, read: "Four Wolves Suspected in Man's Death in Remote Area of Canada".

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Founded in 1985, the International Wolf Center is a nonprofit educational organization that advances the survival of wolf populations around the world by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wild lands and their role in their future. The Center pursues this mission through educational initiatives that include a membership program, learning vacations, an interpretive center in Northern Minnesota, international conferences, youth outreach programs, teacher education resources and workshops, a quarterly magazine and a Web site, www.wolf.org.

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