Listening to Cougar

I was prepared for a sentimental and sanctimonious book about cougars. Although I admire Marc Bekoff's work in many ways, he often seems oblivious to the needs of humans in concert with those of wildlife. But I was pleasantly surprised. The book had my emotions all over the place. First, as someone who lives in the woods with cougars, I craved some connection with these authors - did their cougar encounters scare the heck out of them too? Then when I read a story written by a hunter - I felt my blood boil with rage. I am firmly against hunting cougars and just as firmly in favor of humans defending themselves from cougar attack. But by the end of the book I was once again focused upon my own safety and found the details about humans killed by cougars to be heart breaking as well as frightening. The diversity of perspective gave this book a nice balanced approach to the topic however I am disappointed in the fact that the many people who who have been attacked by cougars and survived - didn't warrant even a cursory mention. The people who bear the emotional and physical scars of cougar attack deserve a voice in a book like this as well. I presume the editor felt that would inflame fear and cause even more persecution of this great cat. That may well be a valid concern. But this issue of human safety and wildlife survival MUST begin to address ALL perspectives if it is ever to progress past polarized politics. I for one will say this. I choose to live in the forest so I also choose to live WITH the big predators as best I can. I am after all in THEIR territory and they didn't choose to have me here. That means I would never hunt or harm them - but I would most definitely defend myself from an attack with EVERYTHING at my disposal: pepper spray, a big stick, a knife and yes, my gun (which is not convenient to carry in most cases so pepper spray and knife are with me at all times). Being stalked by a cougar is humbling. Humans are NOT the top of the food chain - they never were. Just ask the people in India who live with 600 pound Tigers. So I count my blessings that cougars don't usually weigh more than 150 pounds and that my forest is full of deer (a better option than my human frame I am sure!). That said, I don't think humans are making themselves frightening to cougars anymore. The cougar that stalked me made it clear this was her forest and the only reason I am alive now is because she decided to let me live. I was new to life in the forest and thought you could pull your hair in a ponytail (looks like a deers ass) and go jogging every day at the same time of day unarmed with a little puppy (nice bite sized cougar snack) at me side. Stupid. I know better now. And I know that as humans move into the woods to escape our crowded cities, cougar attacks will only increase. If we are to live peacefully with this creature we need to assert ourselves as capable of defending ourselves. The cougars will get it and stick to deer and

This collection of essays written by knowledgeable people but from different points of view gives an incredible view of the treasure that is Cougar. What was striking was that so many of these articles were written in awe about chance encounters with this magnificent creature. Don't read this book straight through, just take one piece at a time and digest it. You'll surely be inspired by and educated about the 'biggest cat in North America'.

This book goes beyond the sensationalism of wild animal sightings and gives a wider scope of real life experiences with cougars. This includes the gorier side of the few deaths (18 people since 1890) attributable to cougar attacks. This book was given to me by a friend (I'm not usually in to animal books). I was pleasantly surprised that it held my attention. I liked the fact that its a "compendium/anthology" - so you get the perspective of many terrific writers who really know and love the subject. I highly recommend this book even if your not a big wild lifer....great stories, great writing style...great book!

In an age when there is so much hype and so little content, Listening to Cougar is a rare gem and time well spent. This heady assortment of writers masterfully shuffled together have offered a collection of stories that are at once entertaining, enlightening and heart wrenching. You feel yourself falling through them as through a dream - utterly absorbed. The hard information included for the curious doesn't succumb to the hysterical one sided voice that seems to drive so much natural history writing these days. Instead it offers complete, unflinching information, leaving the thought and decision about these magnificent creatures as something that lingers in a continued conversation between the heart and mind of the reader... trusting that the accounts woven by this collection of voices will have rooted. It is really refreshing to be considered intelligent as a reader, and indeed for spending afternoons with this book, for once, the reader is indeed left more so. I just can't recommend this book enough. If you're considering giving this as a gift, do yourself a favor, save some time and just buy two... it's a little rude to give the copy you just read and packed around with you for a week!

I learned so much about cougars in this compilation of essays (and a piece of fiction by Joan Fox). The authors shared personal experiences with cougars, information about cougar habits, and so forth. Each was so different yet united with each other that it was easy to read each piece as an individual item, as well as part of a cohesive whole. Of course, the essays (and short story) did not include "everything" about cougars but "just enough" to pique my interest to read and learn more. A very good book!