Wolf attack in northern Saskatchewan 3rd in 12 years

A wolf attack this weekend at Cameco's Cigar Lake mine is once again drawing attention to the dangerous mix of wild animals, people and garbage.

A 26-year-old worker is recovering in a Saskatoon hospital after getting mauled by a lone wolf near the mine on early Monday. He was rescued by a security guard who interrupted the assault,

Conservation officers are investigating and the company is educating staff on wildlife interactions, and making sure food is properly disposed of.

• Wolf attacks Saskatchewan man
• Ontario man killed in wolf attack, coroner's jury finds

The role of food, and how it's handled, is an issue familiar to people who live and work in the north.

On Dec. 31, 2004, Cameco miner Fred Desjarlais was jumped by a wolf outside the Key Lake mine. Desjarlais wrestled the wolf to submission before being rescued by a busload of co-workers.

And then ten months later, Ontario geology student Kenton Carnegie was killed by wolves at Points North Landing, a mining supply camp in the same area as Key Lake.

The young man had gone for a walk and didn't return.

A coroner's inquest determined that the wolves had been drawn to the camp by an unfenced landfill. The jury recommended fencing around the garbage dumps.

The two attacks raised the issue of how wild animals and people interact in the north.

Cameco built an electrified fence around its landfill at Key Lake after the attack on Desjarlais.

The Carnegie attack proved more problematic because no one owned the landfill at Points North Landing.

It was on Crown land and businesses at the camp used it to dump their garbage, but it was unfenced and unregulated because there was no specific owner to impose the regulations on.

That changed after Carnegie's death. The landfill was fenced.