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 …
Extinction Remains Forever
Wouldn't it rock to bring back the woolly mammoth, the passenger pigeon, or the dodo? It's blockbuster movie material and has proven to be highly fundable. But there are problems. The main one is the technology can't do quite what it promises. I have been working in the ethics of biotechnology for a decade and …
Interview with Marc Bekoff about Tenacious Beasts
Psychology Today recently published an interview I did with animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff. Marc gave me the chance to talk about some of the motivations behind my book Tenacious Beasts. I unpack the idea that we need an updated conception of animals. "Why There's Hope for the Survival of Strong-Willed Beasts" Photo Credit: Heidi Pearson …
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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, …
The Life and Legacy of an LA Lion
The only mountain lion living wild in Hollywood was hit by a car last week and euthanized. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife put P-22 to sleep after determining his age and poor condition gave him little chance of recovery. P-22 had been a much-loved resident of one of the world’s most exclusive zip …
When Wildlife is Threatened, You Have to Stop Killing It
Wolverine numbers in parts of British Columbia and Alberta are dropping fast. A study published at the end of October in Scientific Reports found rapid population declines taking place both inside and outside Canada’s National Parks. The authors used remote cameras and DNA sampling of wolverine hair to come up with regional population estimates of …
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Christopher J. Preston 