Mowat, << MOW uht, >> Farley (1921-2014), was a popular Canadian writer who gained recognition as a champion of wildlife and the rights of native Canadians. In his writings, Mowat also attacked what he saw as brutal abuse of the environment. Mowat wrote about 45 books, both fiction and nonfiction. His works included history, children’s literature, humorous fiction, and stories of exploration and whale hunting. In many of his books, Mowat told captivating stories that also explore serious conservation and ecological issues.
Mowat was born on May 12, 1921, in Belleville, Ontario. His first book, People of the Deer (1952, revised 1975), describes the life of the deer-hunting Ihalmiut, an Inuit people whose population had declined from 7,000 in 1890 to 40 in 1949. The book criticizes the Canadian government for policies that led to the destruction of the Ihalmiut and their way of life. Mowat continued the story with The Desperate People (1959, revised 1999).
Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf (1963) portrays a young biologist who studies wolves in the northern wilderness. This book argues that wolves are not vicious animals but play a necessary and useful role in nature. Other books by Mowat that deal with wildlife issues include A Whale for the Killing (1972) and Sea of Slaughter (1984).
Mowat also wrote the biography Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of Africa (1987). This book became the basis for the movie Gorillas in the Mist (1988). Mowat won the 1956 Governor General’s juvenile award for Lost in the Barrens (1956), a story about two Canadian boys struggling to survive in the Arctic wilderness. Mowat died on May 6, 2014.
