A Wolf Called Romeo
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Chapter 2
“Black Wolf Near Glacier Brings Locals Delight—and Some Concern,” Juneau Empire, January 11, 2004, http://juneauempire.com/stories/011104/loc_wolf.shtml.
For more on wolf play, see the index in Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani (University of Chicago Press 2007).
Evolutionary divergence between dogs and wolves continues to be a topic of ongoing debate and conflicting evidence—when, where, and how? See Tina Saey’s article in the June 10, 2013, online issue of Science News, http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350913/description/Now-extinct-wolf-may-be-ancestor-of-modern-day-dogs. DNA evidence indicates that dogs may have descended from a line of wolves that no longer exists.
Science Nordic’s online magazine, June 13, 2012, http://sciencenordic.com/dna-reveals-new-picture-dog-origins, gives an accessible report on results from a major European genetic study that examined DNA from thirty-five dog breeds and concluded from the results that dogs evolved from wolves in a number of independent locations between fifteen thousand and thirty thousand or more years ago.
Chapter 3
My Inupiaq friend Nelson Greist, whom I’d known since 1979, died in 2012 at age ninety. He once cautioned me after I’d camped alone near a pack of relaxed, amicable wolves for several days: “Maybe they try to eat you. You just never know it.”
For a summation on the research regarding wolf territory size, boundaries, and so on, see the index in Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani (University of Chicago Press 2007).
For a good summary of research on interpack strife, see Wolves, [>].
Haber, Mech, Van Ballenberghe, Ballard, and many others have studied dispersal, since it is a key factor in both wolf conservation and management. Haber hypothesized that predator control actually may increase wolf populations at a faster rate than if groups are left undisturbed, since more dispersing wolves means more free-ranging breeders with fewer constraints.
A study summarized by Nikos Green and others in “Wolf Howling Is Mediated by Relationship Quality Rather Than Underlying Emotional Stress” (Current Biology, vol. 23, issue 17, 2013) has indeed confirmed that wolves howl to express separation from pack mates—the closer the bond between two animals, the more howling.
Chapter 4
Author interviews: Pete Griffin, Juneau District Ranger, U.S. Forest Service, retired; Harry Robinson; conversations with Gordon Haber; Inupiaq informants including Dwight Arnold, Joseph Arey, Sr., Nelson Greist, Sr., and Clarence Wood.
Research by Gordon Haber in Among Wolves (see suggested reading list) is especially strong regarding social cohesion and interactions of wolf family groups.
See Layne Adams and David Mech’s study of wolf mortality within Denali National Park, http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/upload/wolfmonitoring2011-2.pdf.
Also see studies on mortality summarized in Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani (University of Chicago Press 2007).
Csanyi’s work contrasting the learning patterns of captive wolves and dogs is nicely summarized and thoughtfully analyzed in Animal Wise (see suggested reading list). See also the article “A Simple Reason for a Big Difference: Wolves Do Not Look Back at Humans, but Dogs Do,” by Ádám Miklósi and others (Current Biology, vol. 13, issue 9, 2003), http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098220300263X.
Chapter 5
Author interviews: Alaska State Trooper Dan Sadloske; Alaska Department of Fish and Game area biologist Lem Butler; Judith Cooper; Joel Bennett; conversation with Inupiaq informant Zach Hugo.
Wolves indeed seem the man-eating beast du jour in recent television and film efforts, including a number of TV commercials selling everything from coveralls (an attacking wolf breaks a tooth on the tough pants) to deodorant (men wearing “meat shirts” being pursued by hungry wolves).
Solid documentation for individual attacks in remote areas of India, Afghanistan, and other Asian countries are difficult to come by; many are presented through clearly antiwolf Internet links and are impossible to verify. No doubt some are exaggerations or total fabrications. However, the preponderance of reports over centuries forces one to conclude that if even a fraction are accurate, many fatal attacks have indeed occurred, with the victims being predominantly children of poor herding families. A 2001 online edition of the Hindu, India’s national paper (apparently authentic), presents a book review detailing a spate of twentieth-century attacks in one province, http://hindu.com/2001/05/08/stories/1308017f.htm.
Stanley P. Young’s 1944 book, The Wolves of North America, parts 1 and 2 (Dover Publications), provides a snapshot of lore, attitudes, research, and knowledge from sixty years ago. Young himself worked for several years for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in predator and vermin control. The fact that even he had trouble corroborating solid evidence of fatal wolf attacks in North America speaks for itself.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Mark McNay’s 42-page publication is titled A Case History of Wolf-Human Encounters in Alaska and Canada (Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Technical Bulletin 13, 2002), http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/wildlife/research_pdfs/techb13p3.pdf.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s report on the Candice Berner killing, titled “Findings Related to the March 2010 Fatal Wolf Attack Near Chignik Lake, Alaska” is available at www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/news/pdfs/wolfattackfatality.pdf.
The death of Kenton Joel Carnegie, like Candice Berner’s, has received extensive media and online blog attention, much of it heavily slanted by antiwolf advocates. The official report, difficult to find, is titled Review of Investigative Findings Relating to the Death of Kenton Carnegie at Points North, Saskatchewan, by Dr. Paul Paquet, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and Dr. Ernest G. Walker, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (August 8, 2008).
The Wikipedia article on Carnegie’s death and the following investigation is exhaustive, detailed, well referenced, full of quotes from those who testified, and by far the best and most inclusive single source of information on the subject, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenton_Joel_Carnegie_wolf_attack.
The nonprofit organization Wolf Song of Alaska (see suggested reading list) provides archived news articles from 2001 to 2011 regarding wolf-human conflicts; these are well organized and accessible. Go to the home page and click the Browse Our Archives button, lower right, http://www.wolfsongalaska.org/.
Chapter 6
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; John Hyde; Neil Barten, Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; conversations with Inupiaq informants, especially Clarence Wood and Nelson Greist; and Robert Armstrong, Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (retired).
Estimates of wolf life span in the wild vary and are subject to constantly fluctuating local conditions. What holds true in one area may not in another. Most data is compiled from radio- and satellite-collared wolves, which may skew data sets. The three-year figure from Adams and Mech’s work in Denali Park (http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/upload/wolfmonitoring2011-2.pdf.) is quite an eye-opener.
Murie, Van Ballenberghe, and Mech, among others, have done extensive work on hunting strategies and tactics used by wolves. Again, the indispensable Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani (University of Chicago Press 2007), offers a summation of peer-reviewed research on the subject. See especially [>]. Haber has also documented hunting behavior, including the extensive scavenging and small-game hunting efforts by wolves (see the suggested reading list for Among Wolves, [>]).
Adams and others have documented the considerable amount of salmon that some interior Alaska wolves may consume, http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/08-1437.1.
Person and others found considerable levels of fish consumption among wolves, coastal and interior, http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm? adfg=wil
dlifenews.view_article&articles_id=86.
Watts, Butler, Dale, and Cox documented coastal wolves’ heavy use of marine resources, http://www.wildlifebiology.com/Volumes/2010+-+ Volume+16/2/814/En/.
Chapter 7
Author interviews: Anita Martin; Joel Bennett; Harry Robinson; Pete Griffin, District Ranger, U.S. Forest Service, retired.
For the entire Tim Treadwell story (quite different in perspective from Werner Herzog’s documentary film Grizzly Man), see my book The Grizzly Maze (Dutton 2005).
Chapter 8
Author interviews: Neil Barten, Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Matt Robus, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, retired; Harry Robinson; Joel Bennett; Vic Van Ballenberghe, U.S. Forest Service, retired; Elise Augustson, a local with regular contact with Romeo.
“Lake Wolf Apparently Kills Beagle,” Juneau Empire, March 20, 2005, http://juneauempire.com/stories/032005/loc_20050320004.shtml.
“Safety More Important Than Wolf,” letter to the editor, Juneau Empire, March 27, 2005, http://juneauempire.com/stories/032705/let_20050327018.shtml.
Chapter 9
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; Joel Bennett; John Hyde.
Person and Russell have studied the considerable vulnerability of wolves to human hunting and trapping in road-accessible populations, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2193/2007-520/abstract.
Chapter 10
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; John Hyde; Kim Turley.
The debate over Alaska’s wolf control program ranks among the most contentious in the history of wildlife management programs in the United States. Well-regarded biologists have lined up on both sides of the issue. A 2007 technical report by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game represents the pro side, http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/about/management/wildlifemanagement/intensivemanagement/pdfs/predator_management.pdf.
A strong science-based rebuttal of the program was produced by Defenders of Wildlife (and yes, that’s Romeo on the cover, less than one hundred yards from our back door), http://www.defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/alaskas_predator_control_programs.pdf.
A nonpartisan analysis of Alaska’s predator control program was conducted in 1997 by a blue-ribbon panel of the National Research Council at the request of then governor Tony Knowles, http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5791.
In 2008 Alaska state senator Kim Elton was named special undersecretary of the interior for Alaska and presented President Obama with a photo portrait of Romeo, which is said to hang in the White House.
Search YouTube for “man and crocodile best friends” to locate a series of videos on these two, including Pocho’s funeral in 2011. Equally interesting are the sneering, nay-saying comments that follow some of the clips. Also search YouTube for “Christian the lion” and “JoJo the dolphin” for videos on those interspecies friendship stories.
Kim Turley’s wife, Barbara, died suddenly just a few weeks later, in a delayed reaction to a fall—one of a growing list of those who knew Romeo and are no longer with us.
Chapter 11
Author interviews: Pete Griffin, District Ranger, U.S. Forest Service, retired; Harry Robinson; John Hyde; Ryan Scott, Area Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Lynn Schooler, Amalga area resident, writer, and naturalist; Nene Wolfe, DVM; Denise Chase, Amalga area resident and employee, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Steve Kroschel, wildlife park owner and expert wolf handler, Haines, Alaska.
“One Solution to the Wolf Problem: Bean the Lamebrains,” Juneau Empire, letter to the editor by Anita Martin, February 14, 2007, http://juneauempire.com/stories/021407/let_20070214026.shtml.
“Mendenhall Wolf Snatches Small Dog,” Juneau Empire, Alaska Digest, April 4, 2007, http://juneauempire.com/stories/040407/sta_20070404009.shtml.
Chapter 12
Author interviews: Denise Chase, Amalga area resident; Ryan Scott, Area Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Neil Barten, Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Doug Larsen, Research Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and at the time, director of wildlife management; Vic Van Ballenberghe, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service, retired, currently independent wildlife biologist; Kim Turley, cofounder, Friends of Romeo; Vic Walker, DVM; unknown Yu’pik Eskimo woman.
“Juneau and the Wolf,” Juneau Empire, February 14, 2008, http://juneauempire.com/stories/021408/loc_246928335.shtml.
Chapter 13
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; Vic Walker, DVM; Michael Lowman, co-worker of Jeff Peacock; Ginger Baker, co-bowler of Park Myers at Channel Bowling; Chris Frary, Sealing Agent with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, retired; Jon Stetson, neighbor to Park Myers; Sam Friburg, Special Agent, USFWS; Chris Hansen, Enforcement Officer, USFWS; Aaron Frenzel, Alaska State Wildlife Trooper; Harriet Milks, attorney at law; Joel Bennett; anonymous Tlingit woman who worked as construction flagger near Herbert River.
Nancy Meyerhoffer, sworn affidavit submitted to Juneau Trial Court.
Michael Lowman, sworn affidavit submitted to Juneau Trial Court.
Douglas Bosarge and Mary Williams (neighbors to Park Myers), sworn affidavit to Juneau Trial Court.
Police Criminal Complaint and Affidavit of Probable Cause, Docket Number CR-271-99, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, December 21, 1999, and Sentencing Order for Park Myers III.
“Where Art Thou, Romeo?” Juneau Empire, January 22, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/012210/loc_553296141.shtml.
“Man Arrested for Killing Black Wolf,” Juneau Empire, May 25, 2010, http://search.juneauempire.com/fast-elements.php?querystring=Man%20arrested%20for%20killing%20black%20wolf&profile=juneau&type=standard.
“Was It Romeo?” Juneau Empire, May 26, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/052610/loc_644797986.shtml.
Juneau Trial Court public records, including evidence images, charging documents, and transcripts, State of Alaska v. Park Myers III, 1JU-10-651 CR, November 3, 2010.
Addressing Peacock’s claims of having killed Juneau’s “spirit bear”: The general term “spirit bear” refers to a very rare, white-phase black bear. Though such an animal did frequent an area near Amalga Harbor during roughly that time frame, and did disappear, it’s clear from photos that Peacock’s bear wasn’t that individual.
Chapter 14
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; Michael Lowman; Joel Bennett; Jeffrey Sauer, attorney at law; Harriet Milks, attorney at law; anonymous grocery checker, Super Bear Supermarket; anonymous woman with flat tire; Cindy Burchfield, Alaskan Brewing; Jon Stetson, neighbor to Park Myers; Joel Bennett; Tina Brown, President, Alaska Wildlife Alliance; Alex Simon, ex-professor of social sciences, University of Alaska Southeast.
Juneau Trial Court public records, including evidence images, charging documents, and transcripts, State of Alaska v. Park Myers III, 1JU-10-651 CR, November 3, 2010.
Following are a number of links to Juneau Empire articles during the period, to give a sense of the case’s importance to Juneau. Here, as elsewhere, the anonymous comments that follow most articles provide as much insight as the stories themselves:
“Romeo Trial Delayed,” Juneau Empire, September 21, 2010, http://juneau empire.com/stories/092110/loc_710505630.shtml.
“Myers’ Court Appearance Set for Nov. 2,” Juneau Empire, October 14, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/101410/reg_720410479.shtml.
“Guilty Plea Expected Today in Myers Hunting Violations,” Juneau Empire, November 1, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/110110/loc_729241648.shtml.
“Hunter’s Plea Hearing Moved to Wednesday,” Juneau Empire, November 2, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/110210/loc_729751503.shtml.
“Juneau Man Receives Suspended Sentence for Hunting Violation,” Juneau Empire, November 4, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/110410/loc_730859127.shtml.
“Helping Juneau Move On by Honoring Romeo,” Juneau Empire, November 7, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/110710/opi_732535770.shtml.
“Second ‘Romeo’ Assailant Sentenced for Game Violations,” Juneau Empire, January 6, 2011, http://juneauempire.com/stories/010511/loc_765565209.shtml.
Epilogue
Author interviews: Harry Robinson; Joel Bennett; Vic Walker, DVM; Ron Marvin, Director, U.S. Forest Service, Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, retired; Laurie Craig, Interpretive Naturalist, U.S. Forest Service, Mendenhall Glacier visitor center.
Juneau Trial Court records and transcripts, State of Alaska v. Park Henry Myers III, Case No. 1JU-10-651-CR.
Again, Empire articles focused on Myers’s return to court:
“White Wolf Encounter,” Juneau Empire, March 19, 2010, http://juneau empire.com/stories/031910/out_592882717.shtml.
“Wolf Country,” Juneau Empire, May 28, 2010, http://juneauempire.com/stories/052810/out_645917431.shtml.
“My Turn: It’s Not About the Wolf,” opinion piece, Harriet Milks, Juneau Empire, January 6, 2011, http://juneauempire.com/stories/010611/opi_765993847.shtml.