Photo Credit: Hannah Mackins A remarkable life is over. Blean Woods’ matriarch, the first Bison bonasus brought to the UK to live semi-wild outside of a zoo, died in November aged twenty-one. Her tenure served its purpose well. The matriarch provided three years of sound leadership and stability for the animals that followed. The bison …
Bison as Climate Heroes
In August this year, I was lucky enough to spend three days with American Prairie in Eastern Montana. The temperature climbed to 102 degrees while I was there. Plagues of grasshoppers splattered themselves on the car grille. I went to the prairie to look at the effect of bison on creeks in the mid-summer heat. …
Eight Quirks of Recovering Wildlife
I was thrilled to have a short essay published in Orion Magazine this week. Enjoy contemplating the strange accommodations we make when wildlife returns. Read more at "Prune a Tree, Save a Bear." Credit: Andrzejuk Bartosz
Brits and Bison Update
On Friday, October 21st, Wilder Blean announced their herd of three female bison had grown. One of the two younger females had not been seen for a couple of days. When bison ranger Tom Gibbs went looking in the dense undergrowth, he was astonished to find a bison calf peeping out from behind a proud …
Brits and Bison
The U.K.’s new bison are settling in. Three female Bison bonasus (or wisent) have been roaming the overgrown, under-grazed woodland outside Canterbury for three months now. Bison Rangers Tom Gibbs and Donovan Wright seem pleased with their progress. According to the U.K.’s first-ever bison rangers, the horned ecosystem engineers have found plenty of birch, oak, …
When Wildlife Can’t Get Away
My blog this month is a piece I published recently in Discover Magazine. According to a study coming out of Texas, every bison in North America is polluted with cattle genes. It's a disappointment for some. But it could also mark the start of a different future with large animals. See what you think. "What …
Christopher J. Preston 