Can We Learn Something, Anything From Candice Berner's Tragic Death?

It appears we are stuck on stupid when it comes to dealing with wild animals. Like a dangerous intersection, how many tragedies need to take place before someone figures out that having vehicles traveling toward each other from four different directions can be a potentially deadly circumstance? To avoid traffic fatalities we control the traffic.

Young Candice Berner died a tragic death, being mauled by wolves in a tiny remote village on the Kenai in Alaska. As calamitous as her death, the repetitive talking points still prevail; rare occurrence, can’t understand it, what did the victim do wrong, we must learn to live with predators, too many humans, it’s all our fault, etc.

People’s love for wild animals, much based on false information about the animal’s habits, have become so perverted it seems some are more interested in keeping these truths from the general public out of fear of tarnishing their precious image of a savage predator, at the price of a human life. It’s easy to blow off the event when it doesn’t directly affect you. For some it hit very close to home.

It’s time to move beyond fantasy land. How can environmentalists/animal lovers/anti-hunters expect people to “learn to live with wolves” when they refuse to allow the truth about their behavior to be presented? This is beyond disgusting.

Read this: “When Do Wolves Become Dangerous to Humans?” by Dr. Valerius Geist

Kevin W.

Thank you Tom for all your doing to get the Truth out for America and the World to see.

We need more people to get educated about this non-native, Invasive species that the Fed’s rammed down our throats. Oregon is now becoming infested by this destructive intruder.

My condolences to the friends and family of Candice Berner.
SR

If it ever gets translated into English, I recommend you read “Histoire du Mechant Loup” (History of the Bad Wolf) by Jean-Marc Moriceau. It documents over 3000 attacks spanning 500 years, unlike Graves’ book which only spans 200.

Also, Hans Kruuk’s “Hunter and Hunted” has a brilliant chapter on wolves, and shows several human casualty figures from Estonia and Holland which exactly coincide with those of the Italian and Russian sources (method of attack, women and children most vulnerable, time of year, differences between rabid and healthy wolves etc.)

“Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a” has a chapter on wolves which was used as a reference by both Will Graves and Valerius Geist. It is interesting to note that although Russian wolves seem more dangerous than American ones, the exact opposite seems to be the case for brown bears.

Also, I thought you’d find this amusing:
http://anti-wolf.deviantart.com/blog/29805475/#comments
Jim Richards

Well the obvious thing people should have learned from this is wolves eat people.
Take precautions when in wolf country. Wear a side arm or some sort of weapon when jogging or hiking in wolf country. Self preservation is the key to survival.
Think about where you are when in wolf country. Don’t be afraid to protect you and yours. No one else is going to do it for you.
jes

SR, I enjoyed your refs….And Jim, evidently, there are some people who would rather have your ass eaten, than a wolf killed, and would rather you were unarmed, as well…Those are the people who do not value your life or your family of humans, but would have you unarmed and defenseless, so as not to kill one of their wolf “buddies”…or protect yourself from one of the same kind of humans that act like wolves and prey on the weak and defenseless…
Jim Richards

I’m sure your right Jes, however I intend to do my best to disappoint those people.
Mikel

Heard of a good one today. From what I understand a local fella went to shoot his rifle at the local range. He was the first one there early in the morning, as he was getting ready to shoot the 500 yard mark out pops a wolf right by the target. Ended up getting his wolf at the shooting range. Maybe all wolves are not that smart or they’re really getting some big balls.
Rich

you have to put this in perspective..of course wolves are dangerous and there will be attacks by wolves on people. The perspective is……………. there are many dangers in the woods and around town. In fact in the US the last 10 years there have been an average of 26 people killed by domestic dogs….a year!!!!!!!!!!!! There are thousand of injuries a year from Domestic dog attacks. I feel a whole lot safer in the woods than walking around town lets put it that way.
Jim Richards

Wll there are several million dogs in the U.S. and only a few thousand wolves so if you want to go by the percentages I would say you had a better chance of getting mauled to death in wolf country than on the way to the mall.
blaine

great piece, keep it up!
Alaska Peninsula Resident

Candice Berner neither lived or died on the Kenai Peninsula. Chignik Lake, where Candice was killed, and Perryville, where she lived, are both on the ALASKA Peninsula. (That’s the big one that eventually turns into the Aleutian Chain.) If you’re going to present “the truth”, make sure it’s true. Basic facts should be easy to check–it would have taken you about two minutes to google a map of Chignik Lake to see where it is actually located. If you can’t report the basics accurately, how we can we trust you with the most important details?
jes

Glad you can enlighten us with your specific directions of where the Kenai Peninsula is, I’m sure we really need to understand just where she was killed, since it makes so much difference in “the truth”, As if we really need you to pick apart our grammar, in order to understand just why you would want to make the death of a fine young woman so much trivia to you…It’s obvious you missed the intent and the need to understand a problem with wolves. Or wasn’t that your intention, after all?
jes

Even Alaska has these kind of people, I guess they must have moved there from California…
Alaska Peninsula Resident

I knew Candice personally. I live with the wolves. I’m well aware of the problems out here and am tired of downstaters sticking their noses in.
jes

Oh yeah? So where did you move from, California? You live with the wolves? You dance with them on Saturday night?

You got anything to say that might mean something? Or are you just shy of humans and prefer the company of wolves? So, if you “knew” Candice, why do you think she was killed by wolves? Were those wolves your friends?
jes

Alaska Peninsula Resident, just to be fair, if you are genuinely a native of that area, and have been so for a long time, and are not an “import”, then I will listen and treat you with respect. If you are not a native of that region, than I have no more reason to respect your opinion than you do mine.
Greg Farber

Downstaters ? Lol.
Harley

Alaskan Peninsula Resident ~
I am so sorry for your loss of Candice. I of course did not know her but I read her blog. She sounded like a very special woman. You say you live with the wolves, I’m taking that to mean that you live in an area where there are wolves, not like you actually bed down with them. The wolves that were killed, were they in poor condition? I seem to remember reading that somewhere, were they starving? I mean, here we have someone who is there, not some reporter. You’re view point would be nice.
Alaska Peninsula Resident

I’m not really sure why you’re an asshole, Jes, or what Californians have done to you, but you really need to let it go. By saying I “live with the wolves” I mean that I live in the bush, where we learn to coexist with wild animals.

Harley: the last I heard, eight wolves have been taken so far–two by Fish and Wildlife and six by villagers using traps and bait provided by F and G; those eight wolves range in size from about fifty to a hundred pounds. Moose and caribou numbers are way down in that part of the peninsula because the wolf numbers are extremely high right now. (There’s some speculation that damage to the tundra is also affecting moose and caribou populations, though I’m not too familiar with that theory.) In short, yes, they’re hungry and Candice made some poor decisions that made her an easy target.
Alaska Peninsula Resident

Correction–Fish and Wildlife provided the traps and bait to the villagers, not Fish and Game.
Harley

I gathered from her blog that she was well aware of the dangers of bears, but was she aware of the dangers of wolves? I’m not trying to make any kind of statement here, just trying to figure out how informed she was because it seemed like she wasn’t naive but I don’t know. It just sucks she had to die like that, die at all really.
TLM

We are concerned with what happened to Candice. Our village is smaller than Chignik Lake, and we have been seeing the signs that the wolves are becoming habituated to us.

Any real information is welcome, Alaska has dealt with wolves far longer than Idaho has.
jes

Wrong on both counts, Alaska Peninsula Resident, I’m not an “asshole”, and neither am I concerned about California residents. The fact remains, that you did not answer me as to whether you were a “native” or not. That you “live in the bush”, does not qualify you as anything in itself. I wonder how many native Alaskans define themselves as “living in the bush”?

You sound like all the rest of these wolf idolizers when you say, “Candice made some poor decisions that made her an easy target.” That doesn’t sound like a friend at all……neither does it sound like a native that lives off the land. Try again, resident….
Harley

TLM, I’m sorry if it’s been stated before, I may have missed it but do you live in Alaska?
Greg Farber

I never tried plugging my lap top into a bush before, sounds kinky. I suppose down here down under in downstate Idaho we should stop making poor choices like jogging down and established road, or riding bicycles, or back packing into Idaho Bush country to fish or hunt, or just enjoy the out doors.. Those are poor choices I suppose, being human is a poor choice.. Knowing those wolves were around a village and doing nothing about them until after a ” friend ” is munched by them is a real poor choice also.. Who needs friends like you ” Resident ” when their are plenty of anti humanist earth freaks around to be mans enemy.. After all, all it takes is a little real research to understand that when wolves start hanging around villages and people, eventually the wolves make a poor choice to, they kill a human being.. And then the wolves die to. The wolves should have been removed before the incident could take place.. It’s called vision, foresight, which comes from previous knowledge, if not by yourself, from others experiences with wolves.. Russia and unarmed Peasants is a damn fine place to start.. At least this girl had the courage to get out and live and enjoy her time.
TLM

Harley – we live in a small village in central Idaho, far from paved roads. (I do not wish to identify where, too many weirdos in this world.)

From what little has been put out about the “incident” in Alaska, it appears the locals were well informed about bears. However this time of year the bears are denned up and do not pose a threat. Couple that with the propaganda put out that “wolves won’t attack humans” – along with the lack of attacks on people – I believe this lead to folks feeling comfortable in their surroundings. I don’t think Candice made a “poor choice” – as she had no reason to believe she would be attacked by wolves.

However, reading as much as I can find from sources like Dr. Geist and Will Graves (and also personal family history from the old country) I do believe that habituated or hungry wolves will attack people. I have been sharing this information with friends and neighbors. We no longer go walking in the woods alone or unarmed. Our dogs are getting fat since they are no longer allowed to run or even do their jobs to keep foxes away from the hen house.

I found a story from a north Idaho paper, I’ll get it and post it here.
TLM

Boundary County couple deal with wolf attack

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 – by LEE BUTTERS Boundary County – Bonners Ferry Herald

Editor’s note: This attack occurred on Friday, March 12 in the village of Chignik Lake, Alaska. According to CNN’s Web site, it is likely that the woman was mauled to death by animals, “most likely wolves.” The cause of her death is yet to be confirmed.

We received this e-mail from our daughter ….

“Please pray, our special Ed teacher, Candice , is missing:

A few hours ago some villagers found a body in the side of the road, apparently killed by wolves.

Candice is the only female unaccounted for and she told the other teacher she was going out for a walk this afternoon. My husband went to the site and the remains fit her description. The troopers can’t make it until morning and won’t let us move the body until then. So, in the midst of a terribly cold blizzard, men are going to stand watch over her body throughout the night.

A few hours later:

The troopers finally gave permission to move the body due to increasing wolf attacks on it, so thankfully no one has to spend the night in the blizzard. The male teachers are helping move her right now. I just hope they are not too traumatized by the event. So far my husband is holding strong, even after seeing it the first time.”

I will spare you many of the details, but I will tell you I was traumatized. Not just for my daughter and her husband, or for Candice’s family. You see, I graduated in Wildlife Resources from Utah State University in 1971. I have a great respect and interest in wolves and thought that this kind of thing just does not happen.

I pulled out my copy of “Wolves and Men” read it anew. Well, maybe it has happened, but nothing in the last few hundred years in North America, or so I thought.

It wasn’t long before a simple Google search for “wolf attacks on humans” lead me to a Wikepedia article, and others, that proved me wrong.

Besides being a graduate in wildlife biology, I have spent several weeks in the remote Alaskan village where the attack took place. Being known for its brown bear population, everyone knows to take proper precautions during bear season. In my daughter’s own words, “we were warned about the bears long before we ever came here three years ago. No one ever even mentioned a danger from wolves.”

Wolf advocates will come back with all kinds of justifications for the incident. I am willing to meet them head on.

I will tell you Candice was not walking with a dog, there were no nearby kills that the pack was protecting and there have been no reports of rabies in the region for many years. She was just walking on a road about a mile and a half from the village. If she had not been found soon after being killed, there would likely be little left of her.

Consider this a warning to my fellow North Idahoans. When walking, camping, hunting, or just enjoying the great outdoors, be aware that the danger from wolves is not just to elk, dear and livestock.
Chris

Rich:

Let’s put this into perspective… I have cows and sometimes cows are dangerous, however if one proves to be dangerous, I put it in the freezer. Can you imagiane having a pasture full of wolves, certainly thier would be no cows, or even me as the law prevents me from putting the wolf in the freezer.
JTM

I concur with Alaska Peninsula Resident’s assessments

Archives
Categories

Can We Learn Something, Anything From Candice Berner's Tragic Death?

Related Posts

Related Sites