An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons
about how to share a planet. 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 crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global
trends toward extinction. Bear in Italy bison in North America whales in the Atlantic. These
populations 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? In crisp transporting prose Christopher
Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences. Drawing on
compelling personal stories from the researchers Indigenous people and activists who know the
creatures best Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking
back vital ecological roles. Each section of the book—farms prairies rivers forests
oceans—offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals passionately
advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery. Tenacious Beasts is
quintessential nature writing for the Anthropocene touching on different facets of ecological
restoration from Indigenous knowledge to rewilding practices. More important perhaps the book
offers a road map—and a measure of hope—for a future in which humans and animals can once again
coexist.
