Read it or Weep

When I was reading Animals Make Us Human there was a reference to another book, The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature by David Baron. I decided to read this book as well. The book is an account of man’s relationship with nature using the specific example of Boulder, Colorado, where the population of cougars dramatically increased during the 1980’s. As the cougars watched and viewed humans, they no longer viewed man with fear. In fact, just the opposite occurred, the cougars in the area surrounding Boulder were attracted to the large deer population, the dog population, and even started viewing man as prey. Then in 1991, the unthinkable happened- a healthy, fit young 18- year- old student was attacked and eaten by a cougar. The author, David Baron, a journalist for NPR warns that as humans encroach on wildlife, they have to live with wildlife in a different and more responsible way. Fascinating.                                                                                          ~Ann