Back from the Brink: Lessons from Wildlife Species Defying Extinction (Online)

The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction.

Populations of bear in Italy, bison in North America, and whales in the Atlantic are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? Christopher J. Preston, a professor of environmental philosophy at the University of Montana, reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.

Drawing on compelling personal stories from researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, he examines how some species are taking back vital ecological roles and defying the odds. Preston discusses the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery and surveys the species that are teaching important lessons about how to share a planet and a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.

His book Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals (MIT Press) is available for purchase.