author
John N. Mugaas
Drawn to both the natural world and storytelling, this Montana writer brought a scientist’s curiosity and an artist’s eye to his work. He is known for a Smithsonian study on raccoons and other procyonids, and he also wrote short fiction inspired by memory and place.
1 Audiobook
Metabolic Adaptation to Climate and Distribution of the Raccoon Procyon Lotor and Other Procyonidae
by John N. Mugaas, Kathleen P. Mahlke-Johnson, John Seidensticker
About the author
Before publishing fiction, he built a career around close observation of the outdoors. He coauthored Metabolic Adaptation to Climate and Distribution of the Raccoon Procyon lotor and Other Procyonidae, a 1993 Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology volume that examined how raccoons and related animals adapt to climate.
He also wrote literary work, including the short story Homecoming, which appeared in Fountainhead Quarterly in 2003. Taken together, his writing shows an unusual mix of scientific discipline and reflective, personal storytelling.
An obituary published in 2026 describes a lifelong love of climbing mountains, hiking, bird-watching, identifying flowers, painting, and writing stories. Those details help explain the steady attention to landscape and living things that runs through the work associated with his name.