The story of the recovery of mountain lions in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Mountain lions, sometimes called pumas or cougars, were once spread throughout the United States, occupying all 48 of the contiguous states. By the 1960s, though, they were almost extinct in central and eastern North America. In Mountain Lions of the Black Hills, Dr. Jonathan A. Jenks, who, along with his team of graduate students, has tracked over 200 of these fascinating predators, tells the complex story of the big cats' lives in the northern Great Plains.
Jenks reports on mountain lion population dynamics, diet, nutrition, diseases, behavior, and genetics. He explores the impact of a changing prey base on population growth and decline, movements within and away from the region, and hunting on the species; discusses interactions between the cats and livestock; and examines local people's evolving perceptions of mountain lions. Throughout, Jenks explores how we can balance conservation techniques with the needs of humans.
Providing a unique look into how a large, secretive predator recolonized an isolated region of North America, Mountain Lions of the Black Hills is required reading for wildlife professionals. A captivating text for anyone struck by the wild majesty of these big cats, this book provides invaluable data upon which to make sound management decisions in the Great Plains and beyond.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
The book is enriched by more than 25 years of research . . . All the chapters are interesting, highly readable and, in places, somewhat autobiographical . . . Likely to appeal to anyone interested in big cats or the ecology of large predators, this book should be particularly useful to wildlife professionals, including ecologists, conservationists and researchers.
-Sue Howarth CBiol FRSB, The Biologist The book was an enjoyable read and is a valuable contribution to North America's predatory fauna . . . I loved all the pictures and thought that it complemented the text perfectly. In fact, I wish more scientifically-oriented books were like this: simple to read, containing concise information, and well illustrated!
-Jonathan Way, Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, Osterville, MA, The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
57 s/w Abbildungen, 15 Kurvendiagramme
15 Graphs; 57 Illustrations, black and white
Maße
Höhe: 236 mm
Breite: 155 mm
Dicke: 15 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-2442-2 (9781421424422)
DOI
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Jonathan A. Jenks is a Distinguished Professor of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University. He is the editor of Managing Cougars in North America.
Autor*in
South Dakota State University
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Ecology of the Black Hills
3. Characteristics of Black Hills Mountain Lions
4. Population Dynamics of Mountain Lions
5. Disease Ecology of Mountain Lions
6. Nutritional Ecology of Mountain Lions
7. Genetics of Mountain Lions
8. Perceptions of Mountain Lions
Epilogue
Index
