Jill F. (ellzeena) -
Several of the incidents reported in this book resulted from the habituation of the Cougar to humans in and around Boulder Colorado in the 1990s, as portrayed in "The Beast In The Garden". Early in this book, its author mentions "The Beast in The Garden" in a somewhat derisive manner, which was off putting to me since she used a great deal of the material that came from that book. Some of the conclusions made toward the end of this book were contradictory: either Puma Concolor is habituating to humans and acquiring memetic behaviors that encourage predation, or it is not: no one can offer any real elucidation of this topic since the Cougar is extremely difficult to study in the wild. As an animal behaviorist, it appears to me far more likely that habituation is taking place and affecting the culture of Cougars in specific geographic locations. I would really be interested in the opinion(s) of a specialist in this field and am looking for published articles, books, etc.
