The Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations, And New Evidence

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 246 pages
• Published by: Stackpole Books August 10, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0811732185
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0811732185
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 14.4 ounces

Product Description
When European settlers first reached the shores of North America, eastern cougars were plentiful, ranging up and down the coast of the present-day United States. By the beginning of the twentieth century, they had been almost entirely wiped out, victims of the same rapacity and ignorance that decimated wolf and bison numbers elsewhere in the country. Today, the continued existence of wild cougars remains hotly disputed, as do proposals to reintroduce cougars to the East. This groundbreaking anthology brings together accounts of early settlers and explorers, presents pro and con arguments on the wild cougar question, and looks at the social and environmental implications of reintroduction. More than just a study of a single animal, this fascinating anthology probes America's troubled history with large predators and makes a vital contribution to the wildlife management debates of today.

About The Author
Chris Bolgiano and Jerry Roberts

Reader Reviews
This book is a collection of publications regarding the eastern cougar with occasional commentary from the editors. Most of the pages are devoted to accounts of sightings or other evidence of cougar acitivity in the eastern states, and at least some of these publications (newspaper and magazine articles, letters, essays, and a few scientific journal articles) can be found on the internet, and others are summarized on the internet at, for example, the Cougar Network website. The editors' organization of the publications is not particularly compelling and their commentary is sparse. Still, it is a convenience to have them glued together into one book, and perhaps for some people that will be worth the cost of the book. For that reason, I gave the book 3 stars instead of 2. What is lacking is meaningful discussion by the editors of the complicated issues that come up when dealing with everything from eye witness accounts, to what may be accepted as scientific "proof", to aiding the recovery of a large feline predator. A little more effort and "meat" from the editors could have made this an outstanding book. They do touch upon these some of these issues but not in sufficient depth. Perhaps they minimized their own input as an attempt to present the material in an unbiased fashion. However, we can hardly assume letters and newspaper articles to be, as a rule, unbiased. One example of something that could have been discussed relates to Dr. Melanie Culver's DNA studies, which suggest that all North American cougars belong to the same subspecies. It appears that this has not been accepted by the authorities, who evidently continue to rely on past morphologic studies which suggest that there are 32 distinct subspecies of cougar in North America. Why is it that Culver's findings have not been embraced? Is it due to fear of the social and political issues that would flare up in consequence to recognizing the eastern cougar as the same subspecies as the Florida panther, (which would imply that the former should enjoy protection under the endangered species act, as does the latter)? Or, are there valid scientific reasons to doubt the DNA studies and give more weight to morphologic studies? Or, thirdly, is it standard practice for the scientific community to wait for an independent investigator to reproduce one scientist's results before they are taken as fact? It seems to me that a discussion of this critical issue would have been entirely appropriate. In my view, the best part of the book is, by far, Dr. David Maehr's nine page essay, entitiled Can the Florida Panther Provide Insight Into Restoring the Eastern Cougar? This is a very balanced piece which seems both skeptical and hopeful at the same time. Dr. Maehr briefly discusses some of the more complex issues and helps put the whole subject into perpective, and this partially makes up for what the editors neglect to do. In summary, I think a review of the publications with thought provoking discussion would have been far more effective than a collection of full length publications assembled by editors who provide little input of their own. The old newspaper articles, letters, etc. by themselves just don't pull together to do the suject matter justice.