Description:
Marginally protected for four decades, cougars have made a dramatic Comeback in the American West. From 1990 to 1999 Canada and the United States reported that 53 people had been either injured or killed by cougars. Before the rise in attacks, most people believed they could fight off a cougar or that attacks only occurred in rural areas. Yet, half of those who lost their lives were attacked in urban areas in the West. Swiftly and silently cougars stalk and attack their prey. These cats typically feed on deer, but a recent study in the 1990s shows that cougars have begun hunting humans. Children have always attracted the attention of cougars and the cats have been known to attack even if an adult is close by. Judy Underdahl is one of many parents who recounted her child's attack. Underdahl was in her motor home photographing sleeping cougars when one caught sight her two-year old son and pushed its way into the motor home, attacking and killing the little boy. The deadly attack on Barbara Schoener in 1994 in California is the first of many alarming tales of the hunter and the hunted. The book also features wildlife photographer Jim Mepham's close encounter with a cougar, along with Diane Shields's and Lucy Oberlin's first encounter with an aggressive cougar in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, as well as their second encounter a year later in the same location. Cat Attacks provides provocative stories that will not only cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise, but will also increase you knowledge and awareness of this potential predator. --Jenny Burritt
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