Baron, David 1964–

PERSONAL: Born 1964. Education: Yale University, graduated 1986.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, W.W. Norton & Co., 500 5th Ave., New York, NY 10110.

CAREER: Journalist. Radio science reporter for WBUR, Boston, MA; science correspondent/editor for National Public Radio; PRI/BBC, currently radio development editor for The World. Radio reporter for Australian, British, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporations; television producer for CNN.

AWARDS, HONORS: Three-time recipient of American Association for the Advancement of Science journalism award.

WRITINGS:

The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature, Norton (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Outside, and Reader's Digest.

SIDELIGHTS: David Baron has worked as a science journalist and public-radio correspondent for more than twenty years. In his first book, The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature, the journalist recounts the history of the mountain lion, also called the cougar, in the United States and the growing, sometimes deadly, encounters that have occurred between these wild cats and humans. The book primarily focuses on Boulder, Colorado, where the expanding city has encroached more and more into the cougar's habitats.

At the center of the story is the death of Scott Lancaster, an eighteen-year-old high school boy who was killed by a cougar in 1991 while jogging near his high school in the mountain town of Idaho Springs, Colorado. According to Baron, prior to Lancaster's death, warning signals abounded showing that some cats were becoming less and less afraid of humans and civilization. As a result, encounters between the wild cats, humans, and household pets were increasing. For example, a Boulder homemaker spotted a cougar in her suburban backyard and watched in amazement as the cat came onto her deck and peered into one of the windows. Dead deer were found within the city limits, housecats began to disappear, and dogs were attacked. Nevertheless, the town's officials and residents believed there was little cause for alarm, since cougars typically ran away from human and dog encounters. Baron delves into the false security of these beliefs as he relates how wild cats in one scientific experiment were trained to eat sliced bananas, which led to their offspring wanting bananas more than meat pellets. Writing in the Yale Alumni online Richard Coniff noted, "His point is that 'feline cultures also exist,' and that mountain lions picking off backyard deer can easily become accustomed to cats, dogs, and even people."

Throughout the book Baron details this growing ecological problem, one that is exacerbated by lush suburban environments that increase the influx of deer and other animals, with the cougars following close behind their natural prey. He also discusses a growing cultural problem exemplified by what Boston Globe contributor Robert Braile described as "a society that has come to see nature as wild yet tame, a landscape physically and philosophically distorted by good intent, bad judgment, and relentless arrogance to accommodate, complement, even enrich our conspicuously consumptive ways, a postmodern Eden where bears, birds, and BMWs live in bliss." Not everyone views the situation this way, however, and Baron recounts how researchers Michael Sanders and Jim Halfpenny worked to persuade Colorado residents that they had a problem.

In a review of The Beast in the Garden, Booklist contributor Donna Seaman noted that, "Although Baron can't resist playing up the sensational aspects of cougar attacks, he does perceptively dissect both sides of the impassioned debate these terrifying confrontations engender." A Publishers Weekly contributor called the work "an engrossing book that reads like a true crime thriller," while Adelaide Review online writer Roger Hainsworth concluded, "There are books so thought-provoking that you interrupt your reading to get up and pace the floor, muttering to yourself. This book is one of them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, January 10, 2004, Renay San Miguel, interview with Baron.

Booklist, November 15, 2003, Donna Seaman, review of The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature, p. 555.

Boston Globe, March 29, 2004, Robert Braile, review of The Beast in the Garden.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2003, review of The Beast in the Garden, p. 1107.

Library Journal, November 1, 2003, Alvin Hutchinson, review of The Beast in the Garden, p. 118.

New Scientist, January 8, 2005, Maggie McDonald, review of The Beast in the Garden.

Publishers Weekly, September 22, 2003, review of The Beast in the Garden, p. 95.

Science News, November 29, 2003, review of The Beast in the Garden, p. 351.

Washington Post, December 17, 2004, Blaine Harden "Mountain Lions Move East, Breeding Fear on the Prairie," p. A1.

ONLINE

Adelaide Review Online, http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/ (February 3, 2005), Robert Hainsworth, review of The Beast in the Garden.

Beast in the Garden Web site, http://www.beastinthegarden.com/ (February 3, 2005).

California Academy of Sciences Web site, Kathleen M. Wong, review of The Beast in the Garden.

Hooked Online, http://www.ruhooked.com/ (August 2, 2004), Radha Marcum, review of The Beast in the Garden.

In-Forum.com, http://www.in-forum.com/ (December 26, 2004), Jim Grier, "Other Views: Vital Factor Is Cougar 'Habituation.'"

National Science Teachers Association Web site, http://www2.nsta.org/ (February 3, 2005), David Brock, review of The Beast in the Garden.

Yale Alumni Online, http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/ (February 3, 2005), Richard Conniff, review of The Beast in the Garden.