The Quest For The Eastern Cougar: Extinction or Survival?

Robert Tougias is an established nature writer and author. Tougias contributes nature articles to newspapers throughout New England and writes several outdoor columns for newspapers in Connecticut. His articles on cougars have appeared in many magazines, including Appalachian Trailways and Fur-Fish-Game. He has had his work on cougars published in the peer reviewed Proceedings of the Eastern Cougar Conference, and is known by many wildlife biologists for his extensive knowledge on the cougar in the East. His fascination with the cougar began early in life and matured after encountering a set of large cat tracks near the family cabin in northern Vermont. Tougias has been actively researching this book for over a decade. After receiving a degree in Natural Resources from the University of Massachusetts, Tougias offered his service to the Massachusetts Audubon Society and was later employed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He lives in rural Connecticut with his daughter and their dog Zoey, where he is president of a local wildlife club. Jay Tischendorf ( contributing chapter on tracking cougars) Dr. Jay Tischendorf received his Doctoral Degree in Veterinary Science from Colorado State in 1997. As a wildlife veterinarian he has contracted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service red wolf and black-footed ferret recovery programs, and the U.S. Forest Service Northern Rockies Wolverine Study. He is a pioneer in the surgical implantation of radio transmitters. He helped confirm for the first time in modern history the presence of cougars in Yellowstone National Park, where he spent two years tracking, capturing and collaring cougars. He was instrumental in the ABC documentary film Ghost Cat of the Rockies. Dr. Jay Tischendorf is a leading expert on cougars in the East, and has been actively involved with the subject for twenty five years.