City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle

City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle
by Nicholas Read (Author)

Booktalk: When we think of wild animals, we don’t immediately associate them with the cities we live in. But a closer look soon reveals that we share our urban environment with a great many untamed creatures. Heavily illustrated with color photographs throughout and full of entertaining and informative facts, City Critters examines how and why so many wild animals choose to live in places that, on first glance at least, seem contrary to their needs.

How do those deer, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, crows, gulls and geese—not to mention the alligators, eagles, otters and snakes—manage to survive in the big city? What special skills do city critters have that many of their wilderness cousins lack? Why have they developed these skills? And what are our responsibilities in ensuring that these animals can continue to share our city lives?

Snippet: We are in the midst of what scientists call “the sixth great extinction,” meaning this is the sixth time in geological history that huge numbers of animal species have disappeared in a very short period of time. The last one occurred about 65 million years ago when, it’s believed, either an asteroid or a comet struck the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. This time the extinction can’t be blamed on outside events. It’s our fault and no one else’s.

STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)