Wildlife thrives in cities despite human activity, with raccoons being particularly common due to stable food supply and fewer predators.
Bears occasionally wander into cities like Burlington, highlighting the need for wildlife conservation and habitat connectivity.
Deep dives
Urban Wildlife and City Nature Challenge
Cities are not just human spaces, but also part of the ecosystem. The City Nature Challenge is a global event where communities compete to document the most species of plants and animals in their cities. Burlington, Vermont participated and documented 584 species in just a few days. Despite human activity, wildlife thrives in cities, with raccoons being particularly common. In a city like Burlington, there could potentially be 15,000 raccoons compared to the human population of 40,000. Urban environments provide food year-round and fewer predators, making them attractive for some animals. However, city animals also face challenges, such as disrupted natural rhythms due to constant lights and increased stress levels.
Bears and Wildlife Movement in Cities
While bears may occasionally appear in cities like Burlington, they do not live there permanently. Cities built near rivers provide convenient corridors for animals to travel from one area to another. Bears may wander off from their usual routes and get lost in the city while searching for food or hibernation spots. Urban environments lack suitable areas for bears to hibernate, making it difficult for them to survive in cities. However, the presence of bears in urban areas highlights the need for wildlife conservation and habitat connectivity.
Crow Roosts and Urban Adaptations
Crows, like many other birds, have adapted to urban environments. They gather in large numbers in nightly roost sites, sharing information about food sources and earning popularity points to secure mates in the spring. Urban areas provide fewer predators for crows, increasing their chances of survival. Additionally, urban environments often have fewer dark-to-bright light transitions, allowing urban-adapted animals to adjust more easily to the changes in light. Urban crow roosts have grown larger over time, benefiting from the reduced predation risk.
Why Raccoons Thrive in Cities
Raccoons thrive in cities due to the abundance of food sources. Unlike their counterparts in forested areas, city raccoons have a stable food supply throughout the year, as humans continuously leave behind food waste. Raccoons are generalists and can eat a wide range of foods, making urban environments ideal for their survival. They have also adapted to urban conditions, such as dealing with bright lights and disrupted natural cycles. Raccoons' adaptability to varied food sources, less predation risk, and ease of finding shelter in urban areas contribute to their flourishing populations in cities like Burlington.
Do bears ever live in cities? Why do so many crows gather together on winter nights? How many raccoons are there in cities? What’s the deal with so many maple trees in Vermont? Why are flowers different colors? How are snakes born with venom? Why do some foxes turn white in the winter and others don’t? Where is a good place to observe wildlife? How do urban wild places support wildlife in cities? Naturalist Teage O’Connor answers questions from Burlington classrooms in this special live episode of But Why.
