Good. I'm familiar with the places in the book and some of the people. ( )

Review: The Beast In The Garden by David Baron. Interesting and educational book. A good read for people who are interested in how mountain lions, bears, and other wild animals habitat among humans and vice versa. I was unsure of the contents of the book but I found the book was well written and a healthy read. There were no gory detailed incidents just a few unexpected tragedies which is a normal environmental way of living if you choose to live in those areas. There was a lot of information on the lion, bears and deer’s living habits. The people in boulder CO. created charts of how these animals stayed in one place for a while than moved on for miles throughout a year or two. They charted when and where the cubs were born. They could tell when they would have a lion that preyed on one type of domestic animal(dog) or a lion who preyed on people. They stated the ones who preyed on humans (very few) were put down because they had no way of changing their behaviors. Lion who preyed on domestic animals they were hunted down and tranquilized them and moved between 80 to hundred miles away from the population in order to try and change there eating habits. As of today they still have mountain lions living in Colorado and most of the people who live their say “tragedies happen anywhere”. Their not concerned because man vs. animal happens so little that they appreciate the animals of the wilderness.
There was so much information given to the reader that even I understand how they all survive together and enjoy the great outdoors. After reading this book it changed my way of thinking when it came to wild animals. It was an enjoyable read…..
( )

Our ancestors weren't the only apex predators in their neighborhood. Lions and tigers and bears (and wolves) hunted the same prey they did -- and sometimes hunted them as prey. In the early times we also hunted them as totems, to reduce competition, and sometimes for our own protection.

After hunting many of these species nearly to extinction, Americans now see them as valuable parts of the environment, totems, or adorable Disneyesque entertainment.

With modern environmental protections populations of these animals are recovering and once again humans and large predators are sharing the same habitats. The problem is, now that humans only rarely, if ever, hunt them, large predators no longer fear us - and this is not a good thing.

"The Beast In The Garden" tells the true story of a town where mountain lions become habituated to humans and begin to prey on them. As large predators become more common in the United States this is a situation we are going to have to confront in many neighborhoods.

It's food for thought... ( )

An extremly well written account of the driving forces behind the return of large predators to suburbia. ( )

This is the story of mountain lions in the Front Range of Colorado, where I live. Part of the reason we live here is the opportunity to see deer, fox, and other wildlife wandering through the neighborhood. But with the deer come the lions, their natural predator. Two summers ago one of my tennis friends, who lives just a couple of miles from me, had a big male lion camped on his back porch for half an hour, completely unafraid of humans and yapping dogs in house, allowing himself to be photographed. We see lion sign on the hikes we take frequently in the foothills just to the west of town. Should we be afraid? Well, the chances of being attacked by a lion are about the same as winning the lottery, but it does happen. Two summers ago a seven year old boy walking hand-in-hand with his father was attacked on a trail near here. The father fought the lion off, but not before the boy was severely injured. As more and more lions live in the area, they become habituated to humans, at which point they become dangerous. If we want deer, and we do, then we have to learn to live with lions. But that said, after reading this book I'm going to be paying just a little more attention to what goes on around me than I used to! ( )