Amazon rating (4.6 out of 5)
Now in its 12th paperback printing
Colorado Book Award winner
“Reads like a crime novel . . . each chapter ends on a cliff-hanging note.”
— Seattle Times
The time: the late 1980s. The place: Boulder, Colorado. When residents report cats as massive as African leopards in their yards and driveways, it becomes clear that mountain lions (cougars, pumas, panthers) are repopulating the land, rebounding after decades of persecution and bounty hunting.
To inhabitants of the environmentally aware city of Boulder, the lions’ return is cause for celebration—initially. As the massive cats take up residence among houses and feast on pets, the animals’ presence turns ominous, provoking political battles and culminating in the unthinkable—the death of a young athlete, hunted by a lion behind a nearby high school.
Here, in a spellbinding tale of man and beast, award-winning author David Baron chronicles Boulder’s struggles to coexist with its wild neighbors and reconstructs the paved-with-good-intentions path that led to Colorado’s first recorded fatal mountain lion attack. The book reveals the subtle yet powerful ways in which human actions are altering wildlife behavior.
As thought-provoking as it is harrowing, The Beast in the Garden is a tale of nature corrupted, the clash between civilization and wildness, and the artificiality of the modern American landscape. It is, ultimately, a book about the future of our nation, where suburban sprawl and wildlife-protection laws are pushing people and wild animals into uncomfortable, sometimes deadly proximity.
“Take Peter Benchley’s best-selling Jaws, move it to the Colorado Front Range . . . and you have The Beast in the Garden.”
— Denver Post
“A book that grabs its readers and does not let them go until the last page.”
— New Scientist
“A compelling parable of man and animal, of the Old West and the New West, of wildlife that is no longer wild.”
— High Country News
“A real page-turner. . . . [Baron] does a public service by presenting the harsh reality of what happens when wild creatures become habituated to humans.”
— Audubon
“It’s about environmentalism either gone terribly wrong or brilliantly correct, depending on your perspective. The Beast in the Garden leaves it up to you to decide.”
— Providence Journal
“A chilling, cautionary tale. It’s also a terrific read.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette