Teacher Likey Killed by Wolves
TheGreatwhitehunter
3/12/10 12:52am
Authorities seek to capture or kill animals
The body of Candice Berner was discovered March 8, 2010, off a 7-mile gravel road leading to the Chignik Lake airstrip.
By JAMES HALPIN |
Published: March 11th, 2010 05:43 PM
Last Modified: March 11th, 2010 05:43 PM
Alaska State Troopers today said a woman found dead in Chignik Lake early this week was most likely killed in a wolf attack, and state authorities are on their way there to try to capture or kill the animals.
Candice Berner, 32, appeared to have been killed Monday evening during a run along a remote road outside the community on the Alaska Peninsula, according to troopers. An autopsy this morning determined the cause of death was "multiple injuries due to animal mauling," troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in a statement.
Based on interviews with biologists and villagers in Chignik Lake, troopers concluded wolves were the animals most likely responsible, she said.
The state Department of Fish and Game wanted to conduct DNA testing to help study the incident, but troopers are convinced it was a wolf attack, troopers director Col. Audie Holloway said.
"We are as close to 100 percent certain as you can be," Holloway said.
Troopers investigating the scene found many wolf tracks around the body and bloody drag marks in the snow, he said. Berner's body had been partially predated and had teeth marks on the throat, which was severely damaged and likely was the injury that caused her death, Holloway said.
Investigators were able to conclude after the autopsy that the animal injuries caused the death and were not inflicted post-mortem, he said.
"She was bleeding as she was being moved, being drug, and the damage to the throat," Holloway said. "The medical examiner concluded that she wasn't killed by any other method and that the damage to the throat was severe. There were animal bite marks on the throat.
"Wolves, just like big cats, usually attack the windpipe area and try to control the victim that way."
It appeared the attack was predatory, motivated by wolves wanting something to eat, he said.
Holloway said troopers and Fish and Game biologists were on their way to Chignik Lake today, planning to capture or kill the responsible wolves. They believe at least two or three were involved, he said.
"We'll stay as long as we can to make sure the public feels as safe as we can make them feel living in Alaska," he said.
Berner, a 32-year-old special education teacher based in Perryville, was found dead Monday evening by a group on snowmachines traveling along a road outside Chignik Lake.
Berner, originally from Slippery Rock, Pa., stood about 4 feet, 11 inches tall and was an athletic person, an avid runner, according to her family. Officials from the Lake and Peninsula School District said Berner, who arrived in Chignik Lake on Monday -- though she had been there before -- left work at the end of the day Monday to go for a run.
The snowmachiners came across the scene of her death a short time later. They reported seeing gloves in the road, blood and Berner's body having been dragged off the road down a hill. Parts of her body had been mangled, they said.
In the wake of the death, villagers began hunting for wolves in the area, which they say have been coming increasingly closer to town in search of food
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Maybe now people will think about carrying some sort of protection while traveling secluded areas like that. From the sounds of it there wasn't much around and it is known wolf country.
get get done up there they can come down here and finish the job
I roam a lot of hunting sites and as you can imagine, they have all posted this same article and most of them are going nuts with the comments regarding the wolves. Believe it or not, it bothers me...however, probably not for the reasons you might initially think.
1) They have always had wolves in that region! Unlike what we here in the western states are experiencing now, the folks up there have always dealt with wolves and probably always will. It's a way of life with them and MOST are prepared for just such a situation. I am originally from Alaska (Fairbanks) and my mother still lives in Achorage so I am not "assuming" anything here.
Might this same thing happen down here with our "re-introduced" wolves? Yes....much more easily IMO because the vast majority of folks down here have never had to deal or worry about them before.
2) PLEASE, PLEASE do not use this incident as fuel for the anti-wolf situation here in the west.
It reminds me of the Anti-gun folks who use every gang shooting as a reason to ban guns completely. Or the Anti-hunters (PETA) who use every poaching incident to fuel thier agenda. They both use situations perpatrated by a VAST MINORITY of us to fuel thier wide-sweeping agendas. IMO you would be doing the same thing by using this incident to argue why we need to get rid of the wolves down here. Again....totally different situations as far as I see it.
Thanks all for entertaining my rant. I just cannot stand ANYONE who twists things that have no bearing into directions that fit thier thoughts, agenda, etc.
For the record....I do not want these wolves down here any more than the next guy. However, I cannot see the Great White North without them either. They are a valuable part of the ecosystem up there...always have been. Our problem down here is that they were removed so long ago that they are no longer an intricale part...they are actually destroying ecosystems in our region. Thier prey here simply has not had to deal with wolves for such a long period of time that they have lost that "imprint"...and are having one hell of a time dealing with it now.
My thoughts and prayers are with her family and students.
Mark