When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working It Out in California

by Beth Pratt-Bergstrom

Wildness beats in the heart of California's urban areas. In Los Angeles, residents are rallying to build one of the largest wildlife crossings in the world because of the plight of one lonely mountain lion named P-22. Porpoises cavort in San Francisco Bay again because of a grassroots effort to clean up a waterway that was once a toxic mess. And on the Facebook campus in Silicon Valley, Mark Zuckerberg and his staff have provided a home for an endearing family of wild gray foxes. Through actions as sweeping as citizen science initiatives and as instantaneous as social media posts, a movement of diverse individuals and communities is taking action to recast nature as an integral part of our everyday lives.  When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors  explores this evolving dynamic between humans and animals, including remarkable stories like the journey of the wolf OR-7 and how Californians are welcoming wolves back to the state after a ninety-year absence, how park staff and millions of visitors rallied to keep Yosemite's famed bears wild, and many more tales from across the state. Written by Beth Pratt-Bergstrom of the National Wildlife Federation, these inspiring stories celebrate a new paradigm for wildlife coexistence.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ecology, Animals, Science, Science Nature

240 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2016

About the author

Beth Pratt-Bergstrom has worked in environmental
leadership roles for more than twenty-five years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Director for the National Wildlife Federation, she says, “I have the best job in the world—advocating for the state’s remarkable wildlife.” Her conservation work has been featured by the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, BBC World Service, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, and NPR, and she has written for CNN.com, Boom: A Journal of California, Yellowstone Discovery, Yosemite Journal, Darling, and Inspiring Generations: 150 Years, 150 Stories in Yosemite. She is the author of the novel The Idea of Forever and the official Junior Ranger Handbook for Yosemite. Beth lives outside of Yosemite, “my north star,” with her husband, four dogs, two cats, and the mountain lions, bears, foxes, frogs, and other wildlife that frequent her backyard.

Reviews

[Lisa Malmquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book illustrating how animals can live near humans without being euthanized for being nuisances. Lots of success stories about bears in Yellowstone, a mountain lion in Griffith Park near LA, as well as porpoises and otters returning to San Francisco Bay. and lots of other great animal success stories in various places in the US.
The most important message of this book is the importance of people getting educated about how to live with wildlife and that anyone can help and contribute to keeping wild places alive. Or contribute to saving wildlife from extinction or bringing back species that have disappeared from an area.
Anyone who wishes to help animals, birds,butterflies can learn about how to contribute to their survival by being a citizen scientist. Creating backyard bird or butterfly habitat. Or getting involved in a bigger way. Lots of small things can help. A very hopeful message when it seems like nothing can be done by the average person.
Also very interesting to hear that three women back in the 60's were mainly responsible for getting the San Francisco Bay restored from a garbage strewn sewer dump to a wildlife haven today.
And that shifted attitudes in the US as a whole from just kill it off to how can we salvage wild things and places and restoring damaged rivers, seas or lands.
I applaud the author for presenting lots of information in such a way as to make it interesting and with the purpose of getting others interesting in doing something to help forward the goals of improving wild places and helping animals survive despite people invading and taking over most of their territories.
I feel that wild lands and animals are one of our greatest resources and should be treated with respect. And that we are responsible for their restoration and survival as well as learning how to balance human needs with the needs of animals and land.
My trips to local forests,beaches and bigger wildlife areas like national parks are some of my most treasured memories, not to mention the entertaining or awe inspiring antics of the animals that live there.
Maintaining that respect and allowing others to experience the awe and magic for themselves is the goal of this book and the stories within. And maybe inspire a few people to help maintain these things if inclined, as well.
Thanks much to the author, enjoyed these stories!

[Kyleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hopeful tale of the many things we're doing right to make sure animals are not only comfortable where they're living now but return to the (often decimated) landscapes their ancestors once lived.

I didn't love the book's format (of scattering smaller stories and snippets within the larger ones), but overall thought the author did a nice job of highlighting some of California's wildlife success stories while also highlighting that our personal interactions with wildlife, especially the largest predators, are often the biggest encouragers we have in forming a caring relationship with the natural world. Having just visited Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains and being familiar with LA and San Francisco made this more enjoyable for me.

This made me consider my most memorable interactions with wildlife: watching black bears and grizzlies do their thing in the wild, being growled at by a mountain lion in Arizona, seeing a Chicago coyote a couple miles from downtown, viewing whales from a little boat in Canada and seeing wolf prints in mud in Montenegro and it's true - these are my most memorable experiences with nature. But - this book also helped me "see"the countless birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums and insects in my urban neighborhood that are there for a reason - because it's where they want to be.

[Karel Baloun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, beautifully written stories about animal survival, and how people are brought together and made better by living with animals. I love wildlife, and I live in California, and I didn't know about any of the stories!

Don’t just protect wilderness, also help wild animals survive in developed environments, as wildlife will increasingly need to coexist with humans, and humans must learn how to keep it wild.

Includes practical advice on how to make your city or garden while life friendly, in conjunction with the National Wildlife Federation.

[Zaiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very uplifting book of stories revealing how humans and wildlife CAN coexist!

[Alicia Fennell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun to read.

[Makana Crannell · Rating 5 out of 5]

one million stars - cured eco grief

[Matt Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting case studies here -- especially of "P-22", the mountain lion in Griffith Park of LA and the story of the return of harbor porpoises to SF Bay -- but overall this book is a loose collection of stories about recovering wildlife in California, especially in urban settings. The writing is often flat, with descriptions too stiff and lacking evocative language. The reporting of the science is, likewise, often superficial. Too bad, more depth all around would have made this a better book. Nonetheless, the book did introduce me to some topics of wildlife conservation in California I knew very little about. It also rings with a spirit of hope and innovation, and it speaks to a broader base of conservation than just the narrow groups traditionally focused on their perceptions of a "pristine" nature.

[g-na · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronicle of various types of Californian wildlife and how they coexist with people. The five chapters here each discuss a native predator - mountain lions, harbour porpoises, black bears, grey foxes, and wolves - and how they have persisted or reintroduced themselves despite the encroachment of urban jungles. In most cases these are animals we might not otherwise know live alongside us, so it is wonderful to know that they are there, and that so many of the state's residents support and encourage their well-being. At the end of each chapter are several one-page vignettes talking about many other the other animals who also live along us, such as otters, coyotes, bees, beavers, and more.

[Elexis Padrón · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, pleasant read. While I do think that the way she talked about the history of California nature & the original stewards of the land could have been more nuanced, I do think that the book served it's intended purpose well--inspiring hope, explaining things in a way that is easy to understand and relate to, and mobilizing change. She is a great storyteller.

This is a great book for anyone who lives in and/or loves California or loves wildlife.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring stories of positive wildlife-human interaction in California. From mountain lions to beavers, learn how people and wildlife can be neighbors even in urban area. An enjoyable and educational read, this book will whet your appetite to learn what you can do to welcome wildlife, whether an urban coyote or a butterfly into your town or yard.

[Melany Scannell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A positive, uplifting read telling short stories of different ways humans have worked together to conserve wildlife. As a scientist, there was a tad bit too much personification of the animals for my taste, but I still thought it was a captivating read and would be insightful in an academic environment.

[Andrew Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging and passionate account of the interactions between people and animals in California, and how both of us can co-exist. It's also well written and very approachable. I've heard Beth speak and she is very inspirational. This is a topic she's devoted her life to and it's worth a read.

[Mel Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does exactly what it says it’s gonna do on the cover and executes it well. Overall an excellent and very educational book.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hopeful and well-researched book about wildlife adapting to city life! I loved all of these stories and hope to hear more in the future.

[Jennifer Bromma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timely, since the recent loss of P22. Can we coexist with wildlife? I certainly hope we can on a larger scale.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that gives me hope that, at least in California, humans really can coexist with wildlife, even in this era of climate change and so much environmental destruction. Highly recommended.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent stories of humans and wildlife colliding in California. Primarily about wilderness conservation efforts. Moving and intriguing stories.

[Telyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beth Pratt Bergstrom has gathered together an inspiring collection of news stories about people and wildlife finding ways to peaceably coexist. The story of P-22, the Malibu mountain lion who crossed two multi-lane freeways and miles of densely developed urban terrain to take up residence in Griffith Park and become a Hollywood celebrity, is the main event, but the author also features rice farmers who are accommodating sandhill cranes, the famous Facebook foxes of Silicon Valley, how Yosemite rangers and visitors are working to keep the resident bears wild, among many other stories.

There a section on the first wolf to set foot in California in our lifetimes, and another on the return of porpoises and humpback whales to San Francisco Bay. In an era where environmental news is almost always bad news, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air and an inspiring reminder that conservation can work, sometimes in the most unexpected places. It's also an entertaining read.

Highly recommended.

[Jerry Bunin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a positive book about different examples of how wildlife and urban environments have successfully mingled in 21st Century California. Author Beth Pratt's 30-year career has included working in Yellowstone and Yosemite and is now the California Regional Director for the National Wildlife Federation. She has spent much of the last dozen or s0 years in an effort inspired by the legendary and iconic mountain lion P-22 to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, now under construction over U.S. 101 near Los Angeles. Her writing is lively, informative, and filled with stories she has experienced and learned about during her career. Her obituary/eulogy for P-22 remains among the most emotionally moving pieces I have ever read. When Mountain Lions ... is an expansion/update of an earlier edition. We live in troubled times and need to be refreshed by the positive perspective she shares. This is the kind of book you want to give as a present to people who care about the health of planet today and to come.

[Katie Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading about various wildlife successes in California and learning of different groups and projects I could get involved with.

[Jenny Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about people making space for urban wildlife. While the stories all come out of California, outsiders will be inspired as well.

[Janet Squires · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors by Beth Pratt Bergstrom, California Director for The National Wildlife Federation, is a thoughtful and well-written collection of stories that highlight the challenges and opportunities that are inherent when people and wildlife coexist. The book focuses on the ways in which individuals – from biologists and other natural scientists to homeowners and freeway commuters – are finding ways to support and even encourage California’s amazing biodiversity. A pair of deer venturing across the Golden Gate Bridge, the amazing presence of P22, Griffith Park’s resident cougar, a peregrine falcon in San Jose City, and harbor porpoises returning to San Francisco Bay are only a few of the remarkable stories.

Bergstrom covers a lot of territory as she recounts the work undertaken to study and conserve a wide variety of creatures across California’s geographically diverse landscape. Each of the five photo-illustrated chapters open with a specific case and its significance in the overall conservation picture then enlarges on the theme to include associated topics before closing with a look at other related animals and situations in a series of one-page essays at the end of each chapter.

The writing is compelling and varied in its approach to the subjects. Chapter Three, Keeping Bears Wild: How Staff and Visitors in Yosemite National Park Help Wildlife, opens with forty-eight hours in the life of Yosemite black bear, based on the recorded travels of one of the bears tracked for research in 2014. This approach provides readers with an in-depth look at motivations, behaviors, and the impact of human habitation on the natural activity of this wild inhabitant of Yosemite. Additional discussions focus on Yosemite’s environment, the work of staff to intervene and develop humane strategies to reduce human/bear interactions that led to property damage and bear deaths. The chapter concludes with a look at the bighorn sheep, the fisher, the pika, Great Gray Owls, and the Yosemite Toad among other subjects.

The final chapter, Good Neighbors: What Californians Are Doing For Wildlife In Their Own Backyards details the ways in which communities, schools, organizations, and individuals are finding ways to support local wildlife.

The tone of the book is honest, realistic, and cautiously hopeful. The current challenges facing out natural environments are daunting, but this book is a reminder that successes are possible. Whether you’re a dedicated conservationist or simply someone who values the opportunity to enjoy a walk in nature, you’ll find inspiration and a new appreciation of the wild world just outside your door.

I enthusiastically recommend When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors.