Update 15 March /A 32-year-old woman, Candice Berner, appears to have been the victim of a wolf attack, which if confirmed would be the first deadly attack by wolves in the US in 50 years, according to the BBC. Berner, a special education teacher, was jogging by herself near a small village in the Alaska Peninsula, Chignik Lake, which is 475 miles southwest of Anchorage. Her body was found by snowmobilers and the tracks around the body were those of wolves. It appears that two or three animals were responsible and that Berner, who was training for a long distance race and was very fit, put up a strong fight.
A criminal death was ruled out and officials believe it is likely wolves, whom residents had said were aggressive recently, are to blame. State troopers in Alaska told KTVA television that this is the first such death they recall or have had to record.
Berger wrote a rich blog about her life as a teacher in Alaska, notes reporter Julia O’Malley in a feature article in the Anchorage Daily News.
Links to other sites: CNN, Fairbanks Newsminer, KTVA
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 13 March 2010.
Filed under: World news
Tags: Candice Berger, death, jogging, mauling, teacher, wolves
March 14th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
A very sad (and relatively rare) occurrence anywhere. I might point out the tragedy occurred on the Alaska Peninsula, not in the Alaska Panhandle.
March 14th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Thank you and apologies – very glad you caught that, and I will correct it now.
March 14th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Sad, tragic, and highly unusual. So sorry for this young woman and her family and those who knew and loved her.
The attack occurred in an area where wolves are allowed to be killed up to ten wolves per person per day. Alaska needs to examine its predator control policies. It needs to be considered whether excessive and indiscriminate killing of alpha wolves, leader and teacher wolves, and other actions that break up wolf families and traditional wolf training might possibly lead to young wolves becoming more dangerous and experimental when they are hungry. Hard to know about this specific incident.
For the most part, wolves are creatures to be admired and respected.
March 15th, 2010 at 2:58 am
I feel sorry for her family. Such a horrible way to go. And this will not turn out good for the wolves. I live in the Alaska panhandle in the heart of an old growth forest. Wolves are a part of my life but the bears are the ones to watch out for. My 13yo son walks 2 miles to school on trails. He brings his pitbull(120lbs) and he packs either a 44mag pistol or his deer rifle. He has never had to shoot but his dog has done his job a few times. That is the only way I will let him go to school without me. Remember when you are in the wilds you are in the wild animals home. They eat, defend, and use their instincts. Their instincts are to chase running prey. Never run in the wilderness. And never where earphones. You need to be aware and you need to hear. An animal knows when you aren’t aware. I hope noone else gets killed by wolves but it could happen.
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:46 am
This is sad to hear. Animals can sometimes be territorial and they can feel threatened if you mistakenly provoked them. May she rest in peace.