‘Never Cry Wolf’ author Farley Mowat, 92, has died

Author Farley Mowat has died at 92, the Toronto Star reports. The Canadian naturalist, best known for his book “Never Cry Wolf,” was a memoirist and environmental advocate.

Mowat was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1921 and served in World War II. Upon his return he began writing and published his first book in 1952, the novel “People of the Deer.” His last book was “Eastern Passage,” a novel published in 2010.

His many awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Leacock Medal for Humour for “The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float,” the Governor General’s Award for “Lost in the Barrens,” the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal and the Order of Canada.

In “Never Cry Wolf” Mowat wryly detailed his experiences being sent by the Dominion Wildlife Service to get a handle on the wolf problem in the frozen tundras of Canada. Always more sympathetic to animals than his human superiors, Mowat didn’t see the wolves as a problem at all.

The memoir was published in 1963; 20 years later, Disney made a film adaptation starring Charles Martin Smith.

For decades, Mowat was an outspoken advocate for the environment. A 1976 clip shows him railing against humans’ greedy use of energy; just a week ago he railed against expanding WiFi in Canada’s national parks, calling the idea “a disastrous, quite stupid, idiotic concept.”

A journalist observing him wrote that by 8 a.m., Mowat was up writing, “driven by the passion, the hot blood, the rage, and the awe of the wonders of the natural world.”

Mowat’s other books include “The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be,” “The Desperate People” and “A Whale for the Killing.” His works have sold more than 14 million copies in 20 languages.