Douglas Stuart Spens Steuart (20 April 1872 – 15 July 1949) was a British

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

, author and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

worker.

Career

Steuart worked as a mining engineer in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1898 and 1899. He was a member of the

Geological Society of South Africa The Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) is a learned society for geological science that was founded in 1895, making it one of the oldest such societies in Africa. The GSSA publishes the peer-reviewed scientific journal, the ''South Africa ...

and the Chemical and Metallurgical Society of South Africa. He resided in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He was a member of the

Institution of Mining Engineers The Institution of Mining Engineers (IMinE) was a former British professional institution. History It began as the Federated Institution of Mining Engineers in 1889, comprising the Chesterfield and Midland Counties Institution of Engineers; Midl ...

. In 1899, he authored "The mineral wealth of Zoutpansberg: the Murchison range gold-belt" in the ''Transactions of the Institution of Mining Engineers''. In 1908, he was living in Cornwall as a consultant engineer and was the director of a company in Boscaswell. In 1913, he authored ''The Metalliferous Deposits Of Cornwall And Devon''. Steuart was a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. He was also a Fellow of the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. He married Mary Rutland. His son, David Steuart was artistic director of

Perth Theatre Perth Theatre is an entertainment venue in Mill Street, Perth, Scotland. It opened in 1900 and was extended in the 1980s. The building is category B listed by Historic Environment Scotland, and is operated by the charitable organisation Horsec ...

Animal welfare

Steuart became known as the "wolf man" as he was known to have tamed savage

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

and made friends with the wolves at

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

. He was the only person apart from the keeper that had close contact with the wolves at the London Zoo. Steuart exercised the wolves and walked them within the grounds of the zoo on a light chain. He became friends with Lassie, Kazan and Orloff who liked to "nuzzle close to him, laying their noses on his knees". Lassie, the mother of the wolves became ill after her arrival at the zoo. Steuart sat with Lassie for several days and nights and nursed her back to health in her sanatorium cage. The wolves trusted Steuart and let him play games with them. He commented that "wolves are just like human beings, very intelligent and lovable when you get to know them. I can talk to them, understand them, and have absolute confidence in their friendship". He spoke about his friendship with wolves at lectures hosted by the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

. In total, Steuart counted 69 wolves as his pets throughout his life. He was on the executive council of the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society.

Death

Steuart lived with his wife in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

for the last eight years of his life. He died at Bridge of Earn Hospital, aged 77.

Selected publications

*''The Metalliferous Deposits Of Cornwall And Devon'' (1913) *''A Wolf-Cub's Tale'' (1947) *''The Wolf-Man's Story'' (1947) *''The World Of Tomorrow, And Other Anti-War Poems'' (1948) *''The Warning Vision'' (1949)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steuart, Douglas S. S. 1872 births 1949 deaths 20th-century British non-fiction writers British animal welfare workers British anti-vivisectionists British mining engineers Fellows of the Geological Society of London Humans and wolves