Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Range Map vii
4. Foreword viii
5. Preface x
6. Acknowledgments xiii
7. Part I. Research and Management Come of Age
8. The Bitterroot Tom 3
9. Chapter 1. To Save a Mountain Lion : Evolving Philosophy of Nature and Cougars 5
10. Chapter 2. The Emerging Cougar Chronicle 17
11. Chapter 3. Lessons and Insights from Evolution, Taxonomy, and Conservation Genetics 27
12. Chapter 4. Cougar Management in North America 41
13. Part II. Populations
14. Tracking for a Living 57
15. Chapter 5. Cougar Population Dynamics 59
16. Chapter 6. What We Know about Pumas in Latin America 76
17. Chapter 7. The World’s Southernmost Pumas in Patagonia and the Southern Andes 91
18. Part III. Cougars and Their Prey
19. Notes from the Field 103
20. Chapter 8. Behavior and Social Organization of a Solitary Carnivore 105
21. Chapter 9. Diet and Prey Selection of a Perfect Predator 118
22. Chapter 10. Cougar-Prey Relationships 138
23. Chapter 11. Competition with Other Carnivores for Prey 163
24. Part IV. Conservation and Coexisting with People
25. Death of a Towncat 175
26. Chapter 12. A Focal Species for Conservation Planning 177
27. Chapter 13. Cougar-Human Interactions 190
28. Chapter 14. People, Politics, and Cougar Management 206
29. Chapter 15. Cougar Conservation: The Growing Role of Citizens and Government 221
30. Chapter 16. Pressing Business 235
31. Appendix 1: Genetics Techniques Primer 248
32. Appendix 2: Cougar Harvest in the United States 252
33. Appendix 3: Groups Participating in Cougar Management 254
34. Appendix 4: Cougar Litigation Summary, a Partial Listing 260
35. Appendix 5: Summary of Cougar Ballot Initiatives in the United States 264
36. References 266
37. Contributors 299
38. Index 303