#urban-wildlife

#urban-wildlife

"I started wondering how our city environments potentially shape wild animals," Raffaela Lesch, a biologist from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the study's senior author, told SFGATE. "How might the environment where we live change them in a way that might be similar or the same to domestication? That's really the idea that sparked this work with the raccoons."

First off, birds really like sitting on elevated lines, whether those are power lines, telecommunication wires or cable lines. The high wires provide an excellent vantage point for surveying the area, giving them a bird's eye view of the territory. From there, they can look around for food and watch out for predators. The lines are also a convenient spot for taking a rest and as there are other birds on the line, a chance to converse.

There are benefits to having an opossum as a close neighbor. Of all the critters that could move in, the opossum is probably the easiest to co-exist with. They rarely do significant damage to yards and gardens, although they can snack on fruits and vegetables. More often, they eat the sorts of things that we don't want in our yards insects, slugs, snails, ticks, cockroaches and even some rodents.

The findings shed light on how rats have adapted to city lifeand how chatty they are. There's this kind of secret language that rats are communicating in with each other that we don't hear, says Emily Mackevicius, a neuroscientist and a co-author of the study. They're very social, adds Ralph Peterson, another study co-author. They're rugged, and they're New Yorkers themselves: persistent and resilient and able to thrive in a very extreme environment.

The data reveals that Southwark Borough Council had the highest report, with 44,257 rat infestations from 2023 to mid-2025, followed by Camden and Islington.

We're led by Kathleen Corradi, the city's famed rat czar, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in 2023, and we are united by our visceral hatred of rats.

The contractors managing the final fit out of the new Google building in King's Cross are having to deal with a 'skulk' of foxes. I'm told the foxes colonized the building in the early stages when it was still quite accessible and are now living on the top floor which is like a small park.

Hiring hawks from local falconer Christophe Puzin was the Majestic's answer to curbing gull-related incidents (such as Sophie Marceau's 2011 wine-on-dress situation).

The cockatoos learned by watching others and then trying themselves, highlighting the power of social learning in animal behavior and adaptation.

The young peregrine falcons at San Jose City Hall are at risk after their mother brought home a rat, raising suspicions of poisoning due to their rare diet.

The researcher Vladimir Dinets was surprised to observe that a young Cooper's hawk utilized traffic patterns to hide while hunting, marking a notable intelligence in raptors.

The bird had flown headfirst into the Bank of America building, a 72-storey modernist skyscraper in the heart of Dallas.

Toronto has made the difficult decision to euthanize two problem coyotes in Fort York, Liberty Village, due to persistent attacks and safety concerns for locals.