Farley Mowat, one of Canada’s most prolific writers and intellectuals, died on Tuesday in Port Hope, Ontario, just days short of his 93rd birthday. Through his writing — including 45 books, from humor to historical accounts, translated into 52 languages — he became known as an animal and indigenous rights crusader, and a passionate critic of environmental abuse.
The book that launched him to fame was People of the Deer (1952), where based on his experiences, Mowat described the struggles of the Ihalmiut, a native Inuit group in the Northwest Territories. But his most read book is a 1963 novel called Never Cry Wolf (even adapted into a Disney picture), in which he tells his adventures as a biologist on a mission to study Arctic wolves, igniting debate over an animal that many Canadians at the time thought should be exterminated.
Farley McGill Mowat was born on May 12, 1921, in Belleville, Ontario, to Angus and Helen Mowat. Mowat’s survivors include his spouse since 1965, Claire, and two sons from a previous marriage.
Source: New York Times.