The Quest For The Eastern Cougar
Extinction Or Survival?
by
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Not surprisingly, one area of concentrated cougar reports was the Quabbin Reservoir. Fifield was now able to arrive quickly at the precise location of each report. On some occasions tracks were found. None of the tracks from the Quabbin would cast clearly enough to be used as evidence. However, in her travels through some of the Quabbin's most remote parts, she happened upon a deer kill that bore the marks of a cougar. There before her, in the isolated region of the Quabbin known as the Prescott Peninsula, were the mutilated remains of a half-eaten white-tailed deer. The kill had been covered in typical, distinctive cougar fashion. To Fifield the significance of this cache was exhilarating. Because the kill was so fresh, Fifield knew a cougar would almost certainly return to feed. Now, the moment of truth was at hand. Fifield needed only to find a concealed location from which to sit and wait for night-fall and the silent return of the eastern cougar. Fifield reflects: “I was really excited about my quest at that moment. I had surveyed the kill closely. It was highly indicative of a cougar kill. Sitting there quietly in the wilds of the Quabbin, I felt sure the big breakthrough was about to happen.” After sitting patiently and overwhelmed with excitement in the middle of the pitch-black Quabbin night, the curtains opened on the drama taking place before her.
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About the Book
Is There This Beast In Our Midst? What is it about cougars? Why does this phantom of the eastern woods stimulate such passion among so many people? For decades wildlife biologists have been telling us that they do not exist east of the Mississippi and yet each year there are hundreds of people claiming to have seen one. Is there any truth to these claims, or are they misidentifications, wishful thinking or tall tales? Nature writer Robert Tougias journeys deep into the world of the cougar and into the reasoning of those that believe they exist and those that do not. The Quest For The Eastern Cougar: Extinction or Survival? is an informative voice of reason that quiets the confusion regarding the powerful predator. It tells us about the cat’s historic demise and alleged modern human encounters. The scientific explanations as to why one ought to believe or dismiss the cougar’s presence are unraveled. It discusses the ultimate question: whether or not cougars have survived in the East or have already left us. No matter what you choose to believe, cougars are likely to continue to make the news. Cougars are turning up in unthinkable places these days, attacks are becoming more frequent out West, eastern sightings have increased and are beginning to offer better evidence. We will be hearing much more about these powerful carnivores, and in the not too distant future we will see more of them. Are there cougars lurking in your back woodlot? Is the East ready for this magnificent predator? “In this readable, well-researched book, Robert Tougias has made a valuable and timely contribution to the public and scientific discourse about mountain lions in the East and the potential for their recovery. This book deserves to be widely read by conservationists, researchers, policy makers and anyone interested in America's lion." Christopher Papouchis Conservation Biologist Mountain Lion Foundation Sacramento, CA Robert Tougias sheds much-needed light on one of America’s most intriguing wildlife mysteries. This book is for anyone who’s ever wondered about the creatures that haunt our forests and our collective imagination. David Baron Author- Beast In The Garden Norton Publishing
About the Author
Robert Tougias is an established nature writer and author. Tougias contributes nature articles to newspapers throughout New England and writes several outdoor columns for newspapers in Connecticut. His articles on cougars have appeared in many magazines, including Appalachian Trailways and Fur-Fish-Game. He has had his work on cougars published in the peer reviewed Proceedings of the Eastern Cougar Conference, and is known by many wildlife biologists for his extensive knowledge on the cougar in the East. His fascination with the cougar began early in life and matured after encountering a set of large cat tracks near the family cabin in northern Vermont. Tougias has been actively researching this book for over a decade. After receiving a degree in Natural Resources from the University of Massachusetts, Tougias offered his service to the Massachusetts Audubon Society and was later employed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He lives in rural Connecticut with his daughter and their dog Zoey, where he is president of a local wildlife club. Jay Tischendorf ( contributing chapter on tracking cougars) Dr. Jay Tischendorf received his Doctoral Degree in Veterinary Science from Colorado State in 1997. As a wildlife veterinarian he has contracted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service red wolf and black-footed ferret recovery programs, and the U.S. Forest Service Northern Rockies Wolverine Study. He is a pioneer in the surgical implantation of radio transmitters. He helped confirm for the first time in modern history the presence of cougars in Yellowstone National Park, where he spent two years tracking, capturing and collaring cougars. He was instrumental in the ABC documentary film Ghost Cat of the Rockies. Dr. Jay Tischendorf is a leading expert on cougars in the East, and has been actively involved with the subject for twenty five years. He was the principal organizer of the first Eastern Cougar Conference, held in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1994, and the co-organizer of the second conference in Morgantown, West Virgina in 2004. He is the president of the Eastern Cougar Foundation and founder of the American Ecological Research Institute.