Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals

Preston (environmental philosophy, Univ. of Montana; The Synthetic Age) details several examples of animal populations that are rebounding in spite of increasing biodiversity loss worldwide. Wolves in central Netherlands, dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay, and bears in the mountains of Italy are just a few cases where people are finding ways to coexist with animals long absent from the landscape. Preston presents a range of viewpoints on wildlife interactions from people, some Indigenous, who are fishers, ranchers, researchers, artists, activists, and conservationists, all mostly located in Europe and the U.S. He explores the controversies around fish hatcheries, dams, and fencing, along with the ethical considerations that determine what animals benefit from interventions. Preston writes with the goal of highlighting promising partnerships, building on lessons learned from animals themselves, and questioning long-held beliefs about wildlife and conservation.