Jonathan McCrea interviewed me for Newstalk in Ireland about my new book, Tenacious Beasts. This 15 minutes of listening gives you a sense of what I was trying to achieve. I found out today the book is going into a second printing already. People like to hear about wildlife successes, it seems! Enjoy Jonathan's FutureProof …
How a Resurgence of Whales Can Change the Ocean
One of the most exciting recoveries I studied in Tenacious Beasts was the recovery of whales. Humpback and sperm whales are back. Humpbacks in the North Pacific have rocketed from 1,200 in the 1960s to 26,000 today. Sperm whales have recovered enough to become a serious headache for longline fishermen. The recovery gives reason for …
Continue reading "How a Resurgence of Whales Can Change the Ocean"
Climate-Busting Sea Otters
One of the delights of my recent research has been to discover animals that can help us fight the climate change battle. Sea otters, now recovering on the Pacific Coast of North America, are one of them. Their contribution to the maintenance of kelp forests is good for the climate and good for a productive …
When Wildlife Isn’t So Wild.
Bears are wild animals. Dogs are pets. It's pretty simple, right? Events in my hometown this summer had me rethinking this. I wrote a short essay on the topic for The Philosophical Salon. One part of the essay explores a growing disenchantment with the words 'wild' and 'wilderness.' Another looks lovingly, and a bit critically, …
When Biology Goes Extinct
It's purely coincidence so soon after P-22's death, but I got the opportunity to be part of a science fiction exchange in Slate.com this week about a lion running loose on city streets. Margrét Helgadóttir's escaped lion is roaming the dark corners of Longyearbyen on Svalbard. The remote Arctic outpost is now a busy metropolis …
Wildlife as a Philosophical Matter
Anyone who loves wildlife in the West should pay attention to what has been going on around Yellowstone National Park. Montana’s position on wolves has, to put it delicately, taken a ‘hard turn.’ This needs to change. The 2021 Montana state legislature crafted aggressive laws to reduce the state’s wolf population. Wolves can now be …
Christopher J. Preston 