Evolution
Cities,
suburbs and other urban settings are extremely inviting places to live
for some animals. Raccoons, skunks and foxes have successfully adapted
to city life and one coyote population in the Chicago suburbs lives in
the smallest territory known - a mere third of a square mile. When all
the food and water they need is on their doorstep, they don't need to go
any further.
Coyotes are the larg
est
mammalian carnivores to make themselves at home in urban environments.
But will they always be the largest? Some, such as Professor Stan Gehrt
(Ohio State University), believe that the coyote's success may pave the
way for bigger animals like mountain lions and bears to move in.
Mountain lions have already been spotted in the outskirts of cities
(such as in the Wrigleyville neighbourhood of Chicago) and black bears
have made an appearance in urban settings in New Jersey.
“The
funny thing is that now we have more people on Earth and bigger cities
than ever, we also now have carnivores moving into cities. It’s a
two-way street: We’re expanding cities into their territories and
they’re also coming in,” said Gehrt. "We’re finding that these animals
are much more flexible than we gave them credit for and they’re
adjusting to our cities.
“That’s going to put the burden back
on us: Are we going to be able to adjust to them living with us or are
we not going to be able to coexist?”
Photo credit: Ty Smedes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://
Cities,
suburbs and other urban settings are extremely inviting places to live
for some animals. Raccoons, skunks and foxes have successfully adapted
to city life and one coyote population in the Chicago suburbs lives in
the smallest territory known - a mere third of a square mile. When all
the food and water they need is on their doorstep, they don't need to go
any further.
Coyotes are the larg
Coyotes are the larg
est
mammalian carnivores to make themselves at home in urban environments.
But will they always be the largest? Some, such as Professor Stan Gehrt
(Ohio State University), believe that the coyote's success may pave the
way for bigger animals like mountain lions and bears to move in.
Mountain lions have already been spotted in the outskirts of cities
(such as in the Wrigleyville neighbourhood of Chicago) and black bears
have made an appearance in urban settings in New Jersey.
“The funny thing is that now we have more people on Earth and bigger cities than ever, we also now have carnivores moving into cities. It’s a two-way street: We’re expanding cities into their territories and they’re also coming in,” said Gehrt. "We’re finding that these animals are much more flexible than we gave them credit for and they’re adjusting to our cities.
“That’s going to put the burden back on us: Are we going to be able to adjust to them living with us or are we not going to be able to coexist?”
Photo credit: Ty Smedes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://
“The funny thing is that now we have more people on Earth and bigger cities than ever, we also now have carnivores moving into cities. It’s a two-way street: We’re expanding cities into their territories and they’re also coming in,” said Gehrt. "We’re finding that these animals are much more flexible than we gave them credit for and they’re adjusting to our cities.
“That’s going to put the burden back on us: Are we going to be able to adjust to them living with us or are we not going to be able to coexist?”
Photo credit: Ty Smedes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://
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