Midwest Book Review
"Enhanced with the inclusion of a section of color plates, "Cougars on the Cliff: One Man's Pioneering Quest to Understand the Mythical Mountain Lion" showcases the amazing life and achievements of Maurice Hornocker in a detailed and inherently fascinating memoir (written with the assistance of David Johnson) that will have immense appeal to those interested in wildlife in general, mountain lions in particular."
Foreword Reviews
"Conversational and often humorous, the book is filled with rousing descriptions of what field research used to be like. Hornocker, admitting that technology has made studying elusive species much easier, nonetheless declares that no technology will ever be able to match the primal thrill of locking eyes with a cougar, armed only with a dart gun and tranquilizer. And Hornocker was also challenged by ranchers’ beliefs that cougars engaged in savage killing sprees, leaving countless carcasses of livestock and trophy game behind....Cougars on the Cliff is a gripping memoir about a scientist’s work to end a state’s war on cougars and bring the species back from the brink of extinction."
Booklist
"Based on the journals and field notes that the author and his partners kept during the study, this memoir documents the immediacy and excitement of pioneering research, ideas formed from following tracks and discovering kills, reencounters with tagged cougars, and the camaraderie formed during difficult fieldwork. Spiced with photographs of Hornocker and his crew with the cats, as well as maps, this reads like an adventure novel."
Douglas W. Smith
Many animals that have been studied have a great number of people that pioneered the way. For cougars, it is mostly just one person: Maurice Hornocker…His story needs to be told for all to know. It is remarkable.”
From the Publisher
"This a very straightforward account of the pioneering study of cougars which happened in the 1960s in a remote mountainous area in Idaho, after the author had spent time working with the Craigheads and grizzlies in Yellowstone. This was before radio collars were used, so the study took place only in winters when tracks could be followed in the snow by travelling many miles on foot, and hounds were used instead of helicopters. Acknowledging the technological advances which have since occurred, the author hopes today’s scientists will still get out to experience being in the wild. Hornocker is in his 90s now, and reading this in my 60s with a lifelong interest in wildlife, I often thought how great it would be to have these memories to look back on. The politics and divisiveness of wildlife issues in the Northern Rockies haven’t changed much (maybe it’s even worse now) and the history of dealings with people opposed to the study is included also, as well as some mistakes which were made. The book also covers his family life and the deep friendship which developed with the cougar hunter he hired to work with him during the years of the study. If the subject interests you, you’ll absolutely want to read this book. Lots of photos too!" — Dennis M., Reviewer 5 Star NetGalley Review
"I really enjoyed this nature memoir; it does everything that I was looking for!" —Kathryn M., Reviewer 5 Star NetGalley Review
