A bear might have killed a university student in northern Saskatchewan two years ago, a coroner's inquest continuing in Prince Albert has heard.

Many people claim Kenton Carnegie was killed by wolves drawn to the area by a garbage dump at Points North Landing, about 750 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

However, Paul Paquet, a Calgary-based expert on wolf biology, told the inquest a different story.

After examining all the evidence, it could be concluded that Carnegie was killed by a large predator, he said.

While Paquet said a wolf attack was possible, he said it was more likely a black bear killed Carnegie, a 22-year old co-op student from Oshawa, Ont., who was in the mining exploration camp in November 2005 on a work term.

While several witnesses told the inquest earlier this week they saw wolves in the area before and after Carnegie died, no one said they saw a bear.

Paquet said after examining all the evidence, including the way the body had been consumed and the way it had been moved around, the conclusion was that a bear was most likely responsible for the death.

However, another wildlife expert, Mark McNay, said Paquet's conclusion is wrong.

McNay, who wrote a report on wolf-human encounters for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the inquest there is no evidence to suggest a bear was at Points North Landing. 

However, there were wolves there that had lost their fear of humans. McNay said he has no doubt that Carnegie was confronted by those wolves.

"He was eventually attacked and killed and then partially consumed by those wolves," McNay told CBC.

The jury was to deliberate Thursday. If they agree that Carnegie was killed by wolves, they will make history.

It will be the first documented case in North America of wolves in the wild killing a human.

The jury's duty doesn't end there. It may also come forward with ideas to prevent similar deaths in the future.