PHOENIX -- A federal report released yesterday revealed that a biologist with ties to Maine died of the plague after handling an infected, dead mountain lion.

The report by a National Park Service review board said Eric York, 37, didn't wear gloves or a protective respirator while handling and performing a necropsy on the animal, who unbeknownst to York at the time, had died of the plague.

York, a Massachusetts native, graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1992. At the time of the infection last year, he was working at Grand Canyon National Park in the park's cougar-collaring program.

York had tracked a mountain lion whose tracking signal stopped moving. When he performed a necropsy on the cat, he did not didn't wear gloves or a protective respirator.

Several days later, be began feeling ill and went to a clinic. A physician there suspected flu and wasn't told of York's regular exposure to wild animals. The plague is endemic to northern Arizona, but York wasn't tested for the disease.

York was found dead in his home six days after retrieving the dead animal on Oct. 26, 2007.

The report was completed in May but just released to the public yesterday. It contends that unsafe work practices and the failure of supervisors to follow policies and oversee workers played a major role in York's death.

Deputy park superintendent Palma Wilson acknowledged Tuesday that the agency made mistakes.

"There were protocols in place, but we were not necessarily ensuring that those protocols and safety standards were being followed," Wilson said.