Shrouded in mystery, misunderstood, vilified and beautiful, mountain lions, pumas, cougars (or however you refer to them), exist in our modern world in constant conflict. People hate them, people love them, or people fear them. 

Mark Elbroch is a mountain lion biologist who has dedicated his career to not only studying these elusive animals, but working to bridge the divide among different stakeholders, agencies, and advocates. In Mark’s new book, The Cougar Conundrum (available August 13, 2020), he dismisses long-held myths about mountain lions and uses groundbreaking science to uncover important new information about their social habits.

Mark argues that humans and mountain lions can peacefully coexist in close proximity if we ignore uninformed hype and instead arm ourselves with knowledge and common sense. He walks us through the realities of human safety in the presence of mountain lions, livestock safety, competition with hunters for deer and elk, and threats to rare species, dispelling the paranoia with facts and logic. In the last few chapters, he touches on human impacts on mountain lions and the need for a sensible management strategy. The result, he argues, is a win-win for humans, mountain lions, and the ecosystems that depend on keystone predators to keep them in healthy balance.

In this episode, Mark breaks down the mythology and takes us through some of the biology and natural history behind these animals, and contextualizes current management practices and public perception in unexpected ways! If you’ve ever wondered why we think the way we do about mountain lions in this country, buckle up, because it may surprise you.

For more information, visit:

https://www.panthera.org/

https://markelbroch.com/

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