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“Professional wildlife biologists, naturalists,
as well as hunters, trappers, and wildlife
enthusiasts will be interested in Phantoms of
the Prairie.”
—Adrian Wydeven, mammal ecologist for the
State of Wisconsin
Of related interest
“Thiel’s exciting story of the return of wild timber wolves to Wisconsin shows the difference
one person can make in the conservation of wildlife and wild places.”
—Gaylord Nelson, former United States Senator and founder of Earth Day
Published October 2001
LC: 2001000715 QL
248 pp. 6 x 9 10 b&w photos, 21 line drawings, 7 maps ISBN 978-0-299-17474-3 Paper $19.95 t
2
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS
• SPRING 2012 •
Environment & Natural History / American Midwest
PAPERBACK
ORIGINAL
April 2012
LC: 2011043508 QL
200 pp. 6 x 9 14 maps, 3 b/w photos
Paper $24.95 t
ISBN 978-0-299-28754-2
e-book $16.95 t
ISBN 978-0-299-28753-5
The Return of Cougars to the Midwest
“The return of the American lion to the Great Plains and
Midwest is a riveting tale. With the eye of a detective, the
mind of a trained scientist, and the heartfelt passion of a
conservationist, cougar biologist John Laundré deftly sets
its stage, giving voice to this fascinating—and absolutely
necessary—predator.”
—Jay Tischendorf, veterinarian, founder and director of the American
Ecological Research Institute
Last seen in the 1880s, cougars (also known as pumas or mountain
lions) are making a return to the plains regions of the Midwest. Their
comeback, heralded by wildlife enthusiasts, has brought concern and
questions to many. Will the people of the region make room for
cougars? Can they survive the highly altered landscape of the Mid-
west? Is there a future for these intrepid pioneers if they head even far-
ther east?
Using GIS technology and historical data, among many other
methods,
Phantoms of the Prairie
takes readers on a virtual journey,
showing how the cougar might move over the landscape with
minimal human contact. Drawing on his years of research on cougars,
John W. Laundré offers an overview of what has been, what is, and
what might be regarding the return of cougars to their ancestral prairie
homeland.
“Dr. John Laundré has tackled an extremely timely and complicated
subject. His assessment of cougar re-expansion into the midwestern and
eastern United States is based on the latest research, as well as his own
biological expertise and long field experience. Once he spells out the
biological basics, however, Laundré boldly speculates regarding the
future of and human responses to this amazing current phenomenon.
His commentary will alternately please and rankle readers.”
—Harley Shaw, author of
Soul Among Lions
and
Stalking the Big Bird
has studied cougars for
more than twenty years in both the United
States and Mexico. As vice president of the
Cougar Rewilding Foundation, he advocates
the return of cougars to their former territorial
range. A Wisconsin native, he is currently an
adjunct professor of biology at the State Uni-
versity of New York at Oswego.
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