cover image Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People

Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People

Chris Bolgiano. Stackpole Books, $19.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-8117-1044-2

In Texas, Puma concolor (mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther) is still a ``varmint''; no laws govern its killing. Elsewhere, hunting is tightly regulated, and California bans sport hunting of the genus. Mountain lions are not officially listed as endangered in the West. Bolgiano, a freelance writer specializing in wildlife and forestry, gives a compelling account of the interaction between lions and people from precolonial times to the present. She hunts lions (with her camera) in Utah and accompanies wildlife biologists who study lions in Wyoming and New Mexico. In both sport hunting and research, lions are tracked by dogs (except in the desert, where trackers use snares). Bolgiano notes that biological data are sparse and local. Among the topics she covers are sightings in the East, attacks on humans (rare) and the captive breeding and reintroduction of the Florida panther. This is instructive reading for wildlife and wilderness enthusiasts. (Aug.)