Urban Wildlife

>>2190978
There was a show I saw (might have been Nat Geo) about how cities are paradise for birds of prey like peregrine falcons. They roost on skyscrapers and gorge on pigeons and squirrels. It was pretty cool, wish I could remember it's name.

>>2190978
imblying they are wildlife
imblying they are not pests

What would happen if every single non-pet animal disappeared from a major city? Like all the rats, cockroaches, and pigeons all disappeared from New York City?

>>2191245
humans are animals too ya know.

probably not very much- less diseases and stuff. way more insects though.

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>>2190978
ran across this cutie a couple weeks ago

>>2190978
That's very true. My neighborhood is absolutely teaming with rabbits, there was one that would always come visit me when I went outside for a cigarette a few winters ago, I called him leeroy.

There's also a bike path that I always ride down really close to my house, I always see deer there in the spring and fall, I've even had a fox or two run alongside me for a little while. One time I saw a skunk blocking the path so I had to wait until it rambled away, there's also this bro teir jackrabbit that lives in a field near me.

TLDR: I live in the easternmost part of my city and I see more animals here than in actual "nature"

I go out and look for birds and it's just to the various parks around the city. So far I've seen like 30 types just locally that I never knew were here before I started doing this. I saw some cool stuff like hawks and herons just chilling.

>>2190978
Good catch OP. For a while I've been interested in understanding how urban animals come to fulfill their niches and what their interactions are.
>>2190996
This sounds very good. I wish you'd remember the name indeed.

I live in NYC. I have noticed, according to Petfinder, that a lot of local shelters either have a catch and release cat program or are based on that. Where are all these feral cats exactly? I have only seen one in my entire life, a cat that used to live in our apartment complexs' garage. People don't let their cats outside in the city and I don't see feral ones either.

>>2191303

I've heard the news mention coyotes in NYC are a thing now. I saw a documentary on that once too. It's so cool but city-folk are so scared of wild animals.

>>2190978
I live in a high rise area, and it's full of hares, pigeons(wild pigeons, not feral), magpies, jackdaws, crows, blackbirds, fieldfares, sparrows, blue tits and wrens. You can also see both deers and hedgehogs occationally. There are also a lot of rats here, but that goes without saying.

>>2191075
There's no pest, unless you apply yourself to it too.
>>2191251
>way more insects though.
I doubt this is true. Some cities just don't contain enough organic matter and plants. House sparrows have declined in my country because people go for tiles in their 'garden'.

>>topic
Outside of woodlands and possible some other biotopes, I like urban nature the most. They are more spontanous compared to the heavily managed nature parks.

I also have a thing for non-native plants, but that is a bit of a taboo as a future ecologist. My biggest issue myself with non-native plants is when they cause monocultures or support little insects. Rhododendron in the UK (not my native country) would be an example of a very bad non-native species (it supports no insects and causes monoculture).

In my experience non-natives are a bit over-hyped in my country (emphasis on my country). I've seen one forest that was a mess (at parts a monoculture of American species), but otherwise it is often a mix of non-natives and natives with both being dominant in some parts.

>>2191251

Insects are animals.

>>2191594
Animals have souls, insects are mechanical in nature

I really love urban/suburban wildlife. It's everywhere if you know where to look!

My favorite urban wildlife are coyotes. It's neat how they're so adaptable to different types of ecosystems. I really enjoy the occasional sighting of a coyote slinking by.

Unfortunately, just like another anon said, a lot of city-dwelling people get freaked out about seeing animals. Coyotes are mostly harmless and very shy animals but a lot of people flip shit when they see one.

>>2191605

I grew up hearing not to get too close to squirells or they'll attack you. I doubt that's true but as a child it caused me to fear squirells.

>>2191608
That's hilarious. Unless you corner them and try to grab or hurt them and they can't escape, there's no way a squirrel would attack you.

In fact, I've never been able to walk within 5 feet of a squirrel without it bolting away and scrambling up the nearest tree.

You don't have anything to worry about from squirrels, anon

I used to live in a town of about 17,000 and saw a fox walking down the sidewalk late at night when I looked out my window once. I just assumed it was a red but recently looked at a distribution map and it said they don't live there, so I'm assuming it must've been a gray.

They also had super fat raccoons on the college dumpsters, and I saw a (rabid) raccoon once outside my apartment that the police were called in on. We did get pumas on campus too (one barricaded itself under the library) but I never saw one myself.

In Southern Nevada we have a lot of Coyotes and Rabbits on golf courses, as well as your usual stuff like pigeons, squirrels, rats, and mice. As for unique stuff, theres plenty of cool insects like Scorpions and Tarantula Hawks, as well as some other animals like Quail.

My neighborhood alone has doves, raccoons, possums, bats, squirrels, and other common south California birds.

Even had some coyotes wandering through a few months ago. Not exactly super close to mountains, though.

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>>2190978
The only wildlife (for the most part) in NYC:

Yearlong animals:
Pigeons (everywhere outside, even on skyscrapers)
House-Sparrows (tiny birds anywhere outside, almost always feeding with pigeons)
Common-Starling (anywhere outside; a bit bigger than the sparrows but much smaller than pigeons)
Rats (everywhere inside buildings, subways, and allies)
Mice (inside most homes and buildings in general, but usually within the walls)
German-Cockroach (In homes and tend to swarm kitchens at night; most common cockroach in NYC)
American Cockroach (in dumpsters and sometimes inside building walls)
House-Centipede (inside most home walls)
Ants (outside in streets, parks, and even homes); typically nonaggressive with no venom
Feral Domestic Cats (outside in streets and allies)
Raccoons (rare, and usually around the 'bleedout' boarder between city and out)
Red-Tailed Hawks (outside usually in large parks but can sometimes be seen in inner cities chasing pigeons in flight)
Peregrine Falcon (extremely rare and are even being helped by programs to stay afloat http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/news/falcon.shtml)


Seasonal:
Gray Squirrel (awake during warm weathers) almost anywhere with trees, including streets outside parks
Red-eared slider Turtles (usually awake in warmer weather) in most lakes, rivers, and even actually inside many NYC sewer lines
Seagulls (come to the inner city during winter)
Crows (temporarily in winter)
Canadian geese (temporality stay in summer) in lakes and open fields like parks
Swan (temporality stay in summer) always near lakes
Duck (temporality stay in summer) in lakes.
Cicadas (only in summer)
Dragon-flies (sprout out lakes during spring to fall)

>>2192481

As a New Yorker, I never see feral cats. They must be really good at avoiding humans.

As a writer, I'm surprised no xenofiction books seem to star urban feral cats. They seem more interesting than cats in the woods.

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>>2192510
Cats in general are illusive, but seeing feral cats in NYC may depend more on where you go.
http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/nycfci//newsletter/2010-12/index.htm

Places that tend to be attractions for humans (busy traction areas for example) rarely have feral cats.

They usually prefer more urban apartment areas or home neighborhoods. Also, they tend to be most active at night or very early in the morning.


But at least there have been some effort to minimize the feral cat population
http://nycferalcat.org/

>>2192549
They mainly feed on pigeons, starlings, sparrows, rats, mice, squirrels, and food left by humans via people deliberately leaving cat food or through garbage.

>>2190996
Kinda related, Trafalfar square has it's pigeon population kept manageable by several hawks, admittedly they're handled by falconers but still.....

>>2192549

There are a lot of catch and release programs in my area. I don't know how well those actually work though.

>>2192481
I find it hard to believe squirrels, crows, ducks, and geese and only seasonal. I'm west coast but those things are here even when it's 10 degrees and snowing out. You literally can't get rid of them.

>>2190978
Pidgeons aren't wildlife they're a feral nuisance. This is like saying stray cats are wildlife.

Saw a TED talk recently about this topic. The lady's premise was that if we define "nature" as those things which haven't been altered by humans, there won't be any nature left (really, there isn't any already). Rather, we should encourage people (esp. children) to experience the nature that exists around them. Hawks perched on telephone poles, wildflowers growing in vacant lots, etc.

>>2192481
you're an unobservant child

>>2192722
Pigeons literally do nothing wrong and help clean up the trash scattered around the city.

>>2192764
They can be vector for a number of diseases and their poop is acidic which causes damage to infrastructure over time.

>>2192635
I've never seen that, but those waterfowls (ducks, geese, swans) are meant to be migrational.
Some animals break the rules. In the case of the migrating waterfowl, it is possible they have become too old, sick or injured to endure the long travel. Or, they are just simply acting unusual.

I mentioned that crows come by winter.


Squirrels do not migrate, but rather hibernate. Many tend to awake a little too soon; perhaps due to not getting enough food beforehand. Although more recently, the climate have been rising and winter can sometimes feel inconsistent; may be a contributing factor.

>>2192725
Please explain.

For the record.
Pigeons were brought to the Americas as a food stock.
They were considered a delicacy by our forefathers.

>>2192906
The list is comically short and inaccurate

>>2192905
Most squirrels do not hibernate. Tree squirrels certainly don't, ground squirrels I think do, but as a rule most squirrels don't.

>>2192722

Aren't city pigeons wild?

>>2193030
Considering we are talking about NYC (not NY as a whole) for the most part, the list is a pretty good size. I even included both kind of roaches to expect.

Though I forgot about
Yellow-Jackets (outside, usually around garbage)
House-flies (in and outside around feces, dead creatures, or garbage)
Fruit-Flies (mostly indoor)
Silverfish (indoor within walls or bathrooms)
Mosquitos (from late spring to fall)
But these seem almost not even worth mentioning, considering they are minor creatures virtually everywhere.

what about doggos tho

>>2193284

Feral dogs don't roam most first world cities. Only a few strays here and there. Most get caught by shelters and animal rescue workers.

>>2193222
City pigeons are domesticated rock pigeons gone feral.

>>2191597
insects have souls too.
zooplankton and everything below is mechanical in nature

Urban fallows can have incredible biodivesity. They are superior to conventional farmland in that aspect.

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>>2190978
>People mistake cities for being devoid of animals

Well it sure feels like it. At some points I've been reduced to feeding ants for animal company, ffs.

>>2190978
Pigeon in OP's pic likes what it sees.