From Field Departure to Poisoning
Never Cry WolfThis thread follows the unresolved danger facing the wolf family after Mowat leaves and the later return of government predator control to the bay.
increasing
Bearing strength in each event
decreasing
The Autumn Departure

The Autumn Departure
Following the Caribou
As winter closes in, the Caribou move toward the forest and the Wolves must follow. Mowat recognizes that his own time at the bay is ending with the seasonal change.
A Human Campaign Awaits
The wolves’ winter range brings them into areas where trappers and bounty systems target them. Their natural migration becomes a passage into greater danger from people.
The Den Inspection

The Den Inspection
A Last Research Task
Mowat returns to measure the empty nursery den before departure. He crawls deep into the passage, despite the cramped tunnel and failing flashlight.
A Sudden Encounter
Angeline and a pup are still inside. The close confinement triggers fear and anger in Mowat, who escapes without having completed his intended study.
A Parting Howl

A Parting Howl
Shame After Fear
Outside, Mowat recognizes that his anger grew from feeling vulnerable rather than from anything the wolves did. Angeline and her pup had been sheltering from the aircraft’s disturbance.
A Lost Connection
George howls across the landscape, and Mowat hears in it the natural world he had nearly joined. His departure ends the field relationship without resolving the separation between human and wolf.
The Poison Station

The Poison Station
Control Returns
A predator-control officer lands near the bay during the winter of 1958–1959 and places Cyanide wolf getters near an occupied den. He also spreads poisoned bait nearby.
A Threat Without Witnesses
The officer cannot return after the thaw, so no one records what happens to the wolves. The family’s fate is left uncertain, an abrupt return to the control policies Mowat opposed.
An Unknown Outcome

An Unknown Outcome
No Follow-Up
The government officer is unable to revisit the control station, and the record does not establish whether wolves encountered the poison. The animals’ survival remains unresolved.
The Unfinished Conflict
The uncertainty denies the reader a reassuring conclusion. The account ends by showing that official policies can reach the family even after Mowat has departed.
Late October, as winter approaches
Just before Mowat leaves Wolf House Bay
Immediately after Mowat exits the den
Early May 1959, at Wolf House Bay
After the 1959 spring thaw