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 …
Putting Carbon Back Where it Belongs
Once you start dipping into the literature on animals and the carbon cycle, it's hard to stop. The relatively new field is packed with eye-popping numbers. A paper published in February notes without drama that “....the total carbon stored in wild mammals and birds is equivalent to roughly eight hours of current anthropogenic fossil fuel …
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 …
Crucible or Nightmare
Albert Borgmann returns for another guest post on The Plastocene. He investigates whether the temporary reductions in carbon emissions due to coronavirus lockdowns can be made to last. Covid-19 could be a crucible for American culture, and it could be a nightmare. If a crucible, it will refine the gold of our lives from the …
Christopher J. Preston 