![]() ![]() ![]() To note, no one should be feeding their pets outdoors, as they almost certainly are creating a feeding station for myriad urban wildlife. They can hunt rodents and other small mammals (which we often see as pests), but they can also consume food waste by scavenging scrapes from trash or yards where folks feed their pets outdoors. Perhaps because they can more easily find prey, since these species tend to be omnivorous, the urban landscape is great for them. Interestingly, human-adapted wildlife generally does not have antagonistic or negative interactions with humans, which is why they are able to maintain stable populations within urban landscapes and often go unnoticed.Īll human-adapted urban wildlife is benefiting from our urban landscape. More charismatic critters, like rabbits or Canada geese, might be human exploiters. Both coyotes and foxes are human adapted, meaning they receive indirect benefits from living near humans. In urban ecology we call species that thrive near humans as either ‘human-adapted’ or ‘human-exploiting’ species. Can you tell us more about the relationship these canine populations have with humans?ĭW: While we can’t be sure that either population has increased, we do know that both species are well adapted to living in the shadows of humans. Much of this is due to my ability to observe my backyard habitat while being on Zoom meetings in my home office. Even myself, as a wildlife biologist, have noticed during the pandemic that more squirrels, skunks and opossum are passing through my backyard than I previously expected. With folks working from home more often, and certain portions of cities seeing less human activity than pre-pandemic years, we have a scenario where urban wildlife might be more comfortable in certain areas with more human observers of wildlife. From a scientific perspective, we have certainly observed that the public has gained an increased awareness of urban wildlife since the start of the pandemic. Both species tend to be crepuscular or nocturnal in urban habitats. Are these wild canine populations rising, and if so, why?ĭW: It’s actually quite hard for us to say if the populations of coyotes or foxes are increasing or rising. So, we reached out to Dane Ward, PhD, assistant teaching professor in Drexel’s Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) department who specializes in urban wildlife ecology, to learn more. The Academy wanted to know these answers, too. These discussions usually lead to a general wonder of whether wild canine populations are on the rise, if they are a positive or negative influence on the local environment and what their presence might mean for the neighborhood. You may have noticed a common theme at the dinner table: Grandpa has spotted the fox in the yard again or perhaps your aunt has heard of a coyote in the local nature preserve. ![]()
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