BY KAREN BOSSICK

More than 900 species have been wiped off the plant since man started building smokestacks at the advent of the Industrial Age.

But some animals have defied the global trends towards extinction.

They include bears in Italy’s Apennines, bison in North America and whales in the Atlantic Ocean—all  whose populations have made a U-turn from the brink of destruction.

Christoper Preston will look at how this happened as he asks how things can go so right when so much is going wrong. The free presentation titled “Tenacious Beasts” will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at The Community Library in Ketchum.

To see it in person, go to https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/11308239. The program will be livestreamed and recorded to view later at https://vimeo.com/event/3937684.

Preston, a philosophy professor based in Missoula, Mont., has written a book “Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries that Change How We Think About Animals.” Copies will be available for signing following Thursday’s talk, thanks to Chapter One Bookstore.

Preston draws on personal stories from researchers, indigenous people and activists to describe how some species are responding. The book offers a road map for a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.

Among the subjects he addresses is the spotted owl, which he notes was fast disappearing because the barred owl had moved in from the east with the settlement of humans. Did efforts to save the spotted owl justify shooting barred owls? he asks.

Preston has written about wildlife, environment, climate and technology for The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Discover, BBC and the Wall Street Journal.