I live two miles away from a small Texas town. So, by definition, I live in the country. This is a setting where wildlife is expected to thrive. Things are changing however. The local white-railed deer population on my land has become smaller in the last decade. I have not seen a gray fox in four years. Perhaps droughts are the cause. Except, I provide water sources for wildlife. Maybe they have moved due to more cars on the nearby road that links my town to the next bigger town. When the country experiences reductions in the diversity of life, I begin to have doubts about how well humans are protecting the Earth.
Now, people in urban areas don’t generally expect to be sharing the space with wildlife. Curiously, animal species, once assumed to be scarce, are now showing up in greater frequency in urban areas. White-tailed deer are quite happy to roam in suburbs and can be found in parks. Hawks are found in New York City perched on gargoyles high above Park Avenue scanning for prey. Coyotes have even been seen shopping in supermarkets.
All is not gravy for urban wildlife. Raptors in cities often hunt rats and humans in cities put out poison to kill rats. Hawks who eat poisoned rats get sick and will die. Now, deer are vegetarians and find gardens to be excellent sources of healthy food. Human gardeners consider deer who eat all the lettuce to be pests. Cat lovers fear for their cats at the thought of sharing space with a coyote.
Rural areas are, of course, no exception. Wolves were hunted nearly to extinction. Ranchers breakout the rifles when conservation groups mention reintroducing wolves to ranges where cattle graze. Ranchers also think wild horses are pests and the Federal government goes to great lengths and expense to keep wild horse herds small and still preserve some of these lovely animals.
It is a challenge for humans and wild creatures to share space. However, it is not impossible. There are many conservation organizations and Federal government agencies who can help in this regard. The most simple thing one can do is to create a welcoming habitat in your own backyard. One organization, I recommend, is the National Wildlife Federation.
Independent of anything we do to help wildlife, it is important to remember that “Life finds a way.” This quote, from the film Jurassic Park (1993), probably encapsulates everything one needs to know about survival, urban or otherwise.
Resources
- Let’s Hear It for the Coyote Hiding in the Produce Aisle, Margaret Renkl, New York Times, Jan 27, 2025.
- Urban Raptors, NYC Bird Alliance.
- Home on the Fringe: White-tailed Deer Thrive in Suburbs, Stephen Badger, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Dec 9, 2019.
- The wolf and the city: insights on wolves’ conservation in the anthropocene, M. Zanni, R. Brogi, E. Merli, M. Apollonio, Animal Conservation, 26, 6, 766-780, Feb 15, 2023
- Wild Horse and Burro Program, Bureau of Land Management, US Department of the Interior.
- Certified Wildlife Habitat, National Wildlife Federation
- Urban Wildlife Habitats: A Landscape Perspective, Lowell W. Adams, Journal of Wildlife Management, January 1994.
- Life Finds a Way, Know Your Meme.
- How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?, Wikipedia. (Link to 1919 song)
- Photos: The photographs are of critters that hang around my home. They are a squirrel and an opossum.
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