Latest news with #urbanwildlife
CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
Coyote pups are cute but people should stay away, park board says
The Vancouver Park Board is asking people to keep their distance from coyote pups, no matter how cute they look. Board environmental stewardship coordinator Dana McDonald explains why getting up close could threaten coyotes' coexistence with humans in urban areas.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bold plan to reintroduce wild animals into Australia's major cities
With the world's urban population set to increase by 20 per cent in 25 years, the footprint of our cities is set to densify and expand. That doesn't have to mean a complete loss of habitat for the native birds, insects, lizards, and mammals that live there too, but for them to survive, humans will need to change their behaviour. Researchers at the University of Sydney have reviewed 2,800 scientific papers and discovered rewilding of urban spaces can help native creatures thrive in cities. Examples include platypus populations growing outside of Sydney, leopard frogs being restored to Las Vegas, and beavers swimming in London for the first time in four centuries. Lead author Dr Patrick Finnerty told Yahoo News Australia there's a global push towards both planting more trees, but also repairing corridors between reserves, so populations of animals don't become isolated. 'Improving habitat fragmentation in cities is on people's minds, but it still remains a problem,' Finnerty explained. Well-known examples of fragmentation problems include: Grassland earless dragon populations being isolated in Canberra due to unsympathetic planning decisions. Elephants being fenced into a national park by development in Malawi Koalas having their natural range dissected in southwest NSW by new housing projects. Some environmental planners also have concerns that a push to create more density in Melbourne will lead to less habitat for wildlife. Both it and Sydney are already lagging behind other international cities when it comes to providing tree canopy cover for residents. There are clear leaders in improving the situation for wildlife. Both Adelaide and London have been designated as National Park Cities, a program that works to connect people with nature. And reconnecting the two is important, because 20 years ago, a US Government study found kids could recognise around 1,000 corporate logos but few native animals or plants. Cities are important hubs for native animals because humans like to build in the same temperate coastal areas where they thrive. Repairing lost green space results in immediate improvements for mobile species like birds, bats and insects. But if we want to see larger mammals and reptiles using these spaces then coordinated reintroduction is needed. 🐟 Hunt for rare Aussie fish not seen since 1990s 🌸 Bid to end centuries of 'confusion' around plants at centre of $5 billion industry 🏝️ Farmers lead Aussie research team to 'unreal' discovery on island Finnerty has been impressed by efforts to both rewild and reintroduce animals from depleted populations into Brazil's second biggest city. 'In Rio de Janeiro, there's been a huge push in improving the bordering national parks around the city and the interconnectedness into the city itself. That's probably the strongest example, because it's resulted in the movement of animals through urban spaces,' he said. 'But there are tonnes of examples of greening spaces. The New York Highline is a good example, and there's a conversation to change the Cahill Expressway in Sydney into a green corridor.' Finnerty recently worked with experts in Sydney to build a list of wild animals that could be reintroduced locally. 'Our initial list was huge. Sydney is missing dingoes, quolls, everything all the way through to little, tiny bushrats in some reserves, he said. 'Obviously the reintroduction of a dingo or spotted quoll into urban areas wouldn't work. But we narrowed down our list to a top four — the bush rat, the brush-tailed phascogale, echidna and feathertail glider — all smaller mammals into urban reserves.' Native bush rats are set to be reintroduced into urban reserves around Sydney in August as part of a pilot study. But once wild animals are set free in cities, they face threats they haven't evolved to withstand. They include: Vehicle strikes on busy roads that dissect green spaces Attacks from pets Rat baits sold at hardware stores, with little warning about their toxicity to wildlife. 'Terrestrial animals face huge problems, and it's a hurdle to rewilding itself. For example, when cats are allowed to freely roam in urban reserves, they decimate small mammal populations,' Finnerty said. But by reintroducing wild animals into cities, Finnerty hopes human residents will start to rethink their behaviour. 'It could be the impetus for people to think maybe we shouldn't let our cats roam at night, maybe we should slow down on the road,' he said. The research has been published in the journal BioScience. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
US peregrine falcons adapt well to city living as their coastal cousins struggle with bird flu
ELIZABETH, N.J. — After rebounding in recent decades due to conservation efforts, the number of once-imperiled peregrine falcons in the U.S. has been dropping again in some places due to the bird flu that has decimated other avian populations in recent years. Although falcons in coastal parts of the country have been hit hard, researchers say others that set up camp in some of the country's biggest cities appear to be thriving, showing the world's fastest bird has acclimated to living among people. They're also amassing fans, as legions of devotees follow along on webcams each spring as the falcons progress from hatching to leaving the nest.
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Wild chickens take over Miami while some embrace roosters as a cultural symbol
MIAMI — Flamingos, pelicans, herons and parrots are just a few of the wild birds that call Miami home, but it's the roosters, hens and baby chicks that have come to rule the roost in recent years. Not only found in residential neighborhoods like Little Havana, Little Haiti and Wynwood, the fowl families are also making their home among the high-rises and government buildings downtown. And while some people find the crowing to be a nuisance, many have adopted the rooster as an unofficial mascot for the city.
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: Prowling Neighbor a City Thought It Shed
'Did they walk over the Golden Gate Bridge? That's my top theory.' CHRISTINE WILKINSON, a carnivore ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on the mystery of coyotes re-emerging in San Francisco in the early 2000s after vanishing for 75 years.
