Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Urban Rewilding

Eastern cities are seeing wildlife reappear in surprisingly large numbers. Coyotes have moved east with the eradication of wolves. Limited hunting and trapping seasons have allowed raccoons and skunks to reappear. Now fishers, a type of weasel, are returning in large numbers to eastern cities, though for whatever reason, not so much to western cities. It's all quite interesting, particularly given the expansion of suburbia into previously rural areas. Yet a lot of mammals seem to be adapting well and even thriving.