Listening to Cougar [Paperback]

Marc Bekoff (Editor), Cara Blessley Lowe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2008

This spellbinding tribute to Puma concolor honours the big cat's presence on the land and in our psyches. In some essays, the puma appears front and centre: a lion leaps over Rick Bass' feet, hurtles off a cliff in front of J Frank Dobie, gazes at Julia Corbett when she opens her eyes after an outdoor meditation, emerges from the fog close enough for poet Gary Gildner to touch. Marc Bekoff opens his car door for a dog that turns out to be a lion. Other works evoke lions indirectly. Biologists describe aspects of cougar ecology, such as its rugged habitat and how males struggle to claim territory. Conservationists relate the political history of America's greatest cat. Short stories and essays consider lions' significance to people, reflecting on accidental encounters, dreams, Navajo beliefs, guided hunts, and how vital mountain lions are to people as symbols of power and wildness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This excellent and compelling collection of primarily personal essays by conservationists on their encounters with cougars successfully gives voice to a "controversial" animal. In "The Growl," naturalist Steve Edwards traces his journey from fear, after finding a cougar under his cabin, to collaboration, as he helps what he dubs the "innocent" animal avoid being killed by state police. Cougar expert David Stoner describes in detail how the animals live in the Colorado Plateau, which he calls one of the most rugged and least accessible landscapes left in North America, while American Indian expert Steve Pavlik examines the role of the cougar in Navajo mythology, emphasizing the importance of mountain lion beliefs and practices in traditional culture. But most notable are those essays that explore the "psychological value" of cougars, exemplified by teacher and activist Suzanne Duarte's "My Bush Soul, the Mountain Lion," a beautiful evocation of and tribute to her experience with the spirit of the mountain lion and how it began her initiation into the "deeper secrets of the psyche." With its wide range of scientific and cultural approaches, this impressive collection will help to shed light on America's greatest cat.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Bekoff and Lowe have in a sensitive, factual, and respectful way provided us, through the eyes of others, a glimpse of this magnificent animal. Noted writers and poets like Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, and Gary Gildner share their personal encounters with the big cat, while biologists and convervationists discuss cougar ecology. Hunters, environmental activists, lovers of the outdoors, and Native Americans also offer their insightful perspectives. This well-written and informative volume is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries and natural history collections focusing on animal behavior.

—Library Journal

"People rarely see these cats, but when then do, the encouter is always indelibly etched on the consciousness. Collected here is a series of essays about the cougar, about its effect on the human psyche, about its place in the ecosystem, and about the emotional effect of viewing one. At times mystical, at times poetic, these tales of the meeting of human and cat are evocative of wildness and nature, both of which we all crave on some level."

—Booklist

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Colorado (November 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870819364
• ISBN-13: 978-0870819360
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time well spent, February 13, 2008

By 

L. Goodyear "WYMayfly" (Jackson Hole) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Listening to Cougar (Hardcover)

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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable and interesting..., February 15, 2008

By 

Kim E (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Listening to Cougar (Hardcover)

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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!, February 4, 2008

By 

J. Eddy "readerwithoutlimits" (middle of Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Listening to Cougar (Hardcover)

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!