When you are an animist in the modern world, funny things can happen that make you question your own sanity. I work outside with children ranging in age from 3 to 15. This evening I received the following email:

Seems there has been a cougar sighted hanging around the area. It has been spotted up by *****’s house behind the park eyeing the neighbors llama. Not that alarming, but wanted you to feel prepared. Having a bell and an adult at each end of a walk seem like reasonable preventative measures.

Is it strange that my instantaneous response to this email is one of excitement rather than fear or anxiety? I find it comforting to know that, in spite of all our attempts to rid the world of big predators, they are still out there, keeping things ecologically balanced!