Earth is scarred by human activity, and we now live in unprecedented times of ecological change. Nothing summarises this more than ‘the Anthropocene’, the term proposed by Atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen and biologist Eugene Stoermer (2000) for the current geological epoch. The pinnacle of human progress, “Anthropo” (human) recognizes humans as central to the transition from the Holocene to a new era dictated by the advancement in human technology; an advancement that will be noted in the very geology of the planet in centuries to come. Common Anthropocene discourse follows a harrowing storyline of human population growth, the technological purging of natural resources, the destruction of habitats and mass species extinction, resulting in desolate dystopian futures. Yet these depictions overlook the slow process of extinction, the untangling of multi-species worlds over successive generations (van Dooren 2014), and the subtle and conflicting roles technologies play in multi-species futures. Specifically, how is human technology threatening, preventing, slowing, and even overturning species eradication from Earth?

The focus granted to species absence also omits the new worlds created through emergent multi-species and bio-techno relationships. Yet, as it stands, many of these worlds will remain unknown. Current rates of species extinction could be up to 1,000 times higher than predicted due to the vast number of species yet to be taxonomically identified (Pimm et al., 2014). Thus, innumerable numbers of species per year disappear from Earth without ever being noticed by humanity to begin with. The nuances of extinction have yet to be appropriately addressed. What then, can be learned by turning to species at the periphery of scientific interest?

Civets, members of the family Viverridae, are examples of little-known species. Belonging to an ancient lineage of Feliformia (or cat-like animals), civets are native throughout much of Southeast Asia. Their large geographic distribution, varied diets and adaptability to anthropogenic impact have made many civet species common throughout much of their range (Jennings and Veron, 2009). Yet very little is known about civets and there is much contestation surrounding their taxonomic status (Veron et al., 2015). Their nocturnal and solitary nature have traditionally afforded civets an air of secrecy, and their apparent commonality has left them at the fringes of conservation science.

Through the lens of the civet, a family of animals whose complexities remain largely unknown (Hooper, 2022), this project seeks to look closer at the bio-techno-human-animal relationships shaping stories of survival in the Anthropocene. The careful philosophical telling of extinction processes will challenge anthropocentric narratives of the current epoch by bringing the animal Other into focus,  illustrating the multi-species worlds being shaped and co-created in response to one another in times of ecological crisis. Through the civet it is possible to explore the ways in which animals disappear from this world, be it figuratively through their exploitation, the disappearance from human conscience, and literally through their physical disappearance from our shared planet. For civets, disappearance occurs in various ways from their secretive nature to their enrolment into hidden systems of exploitation, their hybridization, and death.

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An interdisciplinary project which engages with in-situ and ex-situ conservation scientists, NGO's, cryopreservation technologists, zoological institutions and accrediting bodies, 'Stories of Survival' brings a plurality of voices to the issue of disappearance to challenge the so often bleak rhetoric within dystopian Anthropocene narratives.

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The project, currently in its infancy, aims to produce a series of works including a book following the conservation stories of civets and humans in and outside of Viverrid home ranges, conference presentations, and scientific  reports intended to aid current conservation objectives.

Current, and ongoing, methods and proposed dissemination are detailed below.