🎧 Do Wild Animals Live In Cities?

Zoologist Liza Lehrer joins us in Episode 01 of our new podcast Questions from A City Kid to talk about wild animals living in cities. Turns out many species are our neighbors! Listen in to discover how you can help animals have a good life in the city.

Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to help zoologists like Liza? Join a citizen science project to track and log wildlife sightings! There are projects in so many cities. Our favorites are the Chicago Wildlife Watch (this is the one Liza mentioned) and Wildlife of Los Angeles project. There are many more on Zooniverse and SciStarter—find one in your own city!

Interested in practicing your observation skills? Find a grassy spot near a tree at your favorite park. Take a seat on the ground, quiet your voice (and your thoughts) and begin looking for wildlife. There’s a good chance you might hear an animal before you see it! And don’t forget to look down. Hint: take a bug’s eye view. Keep a log of how many creatures you see in 15 minutes. The more you practice this kind of looking, the more wildlife you’ll notice throughout your city!

Many thanks to Liza Lehrer and Sabrina Cyanova of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Without them we would never have known that urban coyotes can look both ways to cross the street! Go support your zoo, friends! They’re probably doing a lot of behind-the-senes work in your city.