1996 Wolf Mauling of Young Biologist Recounted in Retrospectives on Sanctuary Safety

Overview

• Patricia Wyman, a 24-year-old newly hired caretaker at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre in Canada, entered a wolf enclosure alone and was fatally attacked by the pack.
• Two staff members discovered her body later that day, and responding officers found wolves guarding the remains before firing warning shots and retrieving the body with a six-officer team.
• Wolf biologist Erich Klinghammer’s subsequent assessment suggested she likely unlocked the main gate, may have tripped, and was then overwhelmed by multiple wolves.
• A coroner ordered the wolves euthanized following the attack, reflecting the official response to the incident.
• In the years since, the facility expanded to include a 5,000-square-foot wolf centre and one-way glass observatories overlooking a seven-acre enclosure.