The White Puma

by R.D. Lawrence

The story of an albino mountain lion. It starts with his mother's pregnancy, and then follows the life of the cougar as it grows up in mountain wilderness. I really enjoyed the parts that describe the day-to-day life of the big cat and how it perceived and experienced life. Eventually its presence and unusual coat color are discovered by men. Most of the story then focuses on how a pair of hunters try to track the cat down, and the puma eventually begins stalking them in turn. There's also a field biologist intent on studying the cat, and the struggle between the different factions of people with opposite intentions for the mountain lion's destiny becomes just as intense as the struggle between the cat itself and his pursuers. Written by a wildlife biologist, the novel is strong on themes dealing with poaching and the need for conservation, but what I liked best about it was the thrill of seeing who would win the deadly stalking game that went round and round through the mountain forests, as well as reading about the puma's natural behavior and predatory instincts.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 329 pages, 1990