Canadian author Farley Mowat dies at 92

Farley Mowat, one of Canada's best-known writers, whose impassioned books about wildlife and native cultures inspired generations of environmental activists and sparked criticism of his methods, died Tuesday at his home in Port Hope, Ontario. He was 92.

From an early age, Mowat was stricken with what he called "virus arcticus," or Arctic fever. He drew on his wide travels throughout Canada for his more than 40 books, including many that brought early attention to environmental degradation, the treatment of animals and plight of native peoples. His 1963 book, "Never Cry Wolf," was widely read.

He became such an outspoken activist that U.S. customs officials barred him from crossing the border in 1985, noting that Mowat was on a list of "subversive" foreign nationals.

Mowat wrote novels, memoirs and children's books, as well as a 1987 biography of Dian Fossey, the American naturalist who sought to save African mountain gorillas and was found murdered at her home in Rwanda in 1985.

Mowat was best known for his reports from the remote regions of Canada. Since the age of 14, he had traveled with scientific expeditions to the barren north, where he was powerfully affected by the wildlife, the people and the land.

His writing inspired parliamentary debate in Canada and changes in the country's practices toward the native inhabitants of the Arctic. Acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood noted in 2012 that "People of the Deer" had the same impact on the treatment of native peoples as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" had had on the environmental movement.

From the beginning of his career, critics raised questions about Mowat's research methods. The sharpest rebuke came in 1996, when journalist John Goddard compared Mowat's archived diaries and field notes with his published books, concluding that the author often relied on exaggeration or outright fabrication.

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"I never let the facts stand in the way of the truth," Mowat said at first, describing his work as "subjective nonfiction."

In the end, he maintained that the larger issues he explored in his books -- the shabby treatment of the environment and indigenous peoples -- remained intact.

Farley McGill Mowat was born May 12, 1921, in Belleville, Ontario. Before he turned 12, young Mowat was writing a column on birds for a local newspaper.

He served overseas with the Canadian army for three years during World War II, returning traumatized by the gruesome battlefield scenes he witnessed in Italy. After the war, he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1949.

Mowat's first marriage, to Frances Thornhill, ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Claire Wheeler of Port Hope, and two sons from his first marriage.