Urban Wildlife Research Articles (Page 1)

Abstract Urbanization has a negative impact on ecosystems and threatens the existence of wildlife; however, it also provides alternative habitats for wildlife. Man-made structures and anthropogenic resources contribute to urban wildlife by providing nest sites and food. In particular, supplemental feeding, such as garden bird feeding, has been considered to contribute strongly to urban wildlife by providing a high-energy food, possibly increasing reproductive success. However, it remains unclear whether, and to what extent, supplemental feeding boosts reproduction, particularly in mammals. Here, we studied the multiple aspects of reproductive conditions of female Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris, living in the rural and urban areas which differed mainly in supplemental feeding, in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, Japan. From the individual-based daily observation, we found that the urban population had a significantly 24% higher pregnancy rate and a one-month earlier breeding season than the rural population. Urban females were one year earlier/older for each initial/latest reproductive bout (at one and five years old) than rural females (two and four years old, respectively). The number of weaned young from single litter were on average 3.0 young for urban and 1.5 young for rural areas. In addition, although rural females did not attend multiple breeding, 40% of urban females did so. Our results suggest that urban squirrels have better reproductive conditions than rural squirrels.

What determines whether the public favors anthropocentric or biocentric signage in urban contexts? We conceptualize signage not only as a communicative device but also as a governance instrument that encodes environmental values into urban spaces. We study a city-level case of human–wildlife coexistence involving wild boars in Mount Carmel and Nesher (Israel) using a public opinion survey of residents (N = 405) and an operationalization that combines open-ended coding of the proposed sign content with structured items on sign design preferences. Analyses (correlations and regression models with mediation and moderation tests) indicate that higher perceived harm is associated with stronger anthropocentric preferences; this relationship is partly transmitted via support for local environmental morality policies and is conditioned by political ideology. These findings collectively show that socio-cultural stability, perceived harm, and political worldview jointly shape whether residents endorse signage that emphasizes human safety or ecological coexistence. Design choices also align with the spectrum: biocentric preferences co-occur with instructional/informational content, softer color palettes, family-oriented iconography, and humorous tones. By empirically operationalizing signage preference and linking it to socio-cultural and political drivers, this study clarifies how “design governance” can shape human–wildlife interactions. By demonstrating how governance instruments such as signage reflect deeper social, environmental, and political dynamics, this study advances our theoretical understanding of “design governance” and its role in urban sustainability. We discuss practical implications for municipalities seeking to foster coexistence through clear, behaviorally informed signage.

ABSTRACT Although human – wild boar interactions in cities are increasingly documented, little is known about conflicts among key actors managing urban wild boar. Based on the premise that human – wildlife co-occurrence may escalate from concerns about animal impacts to management disputes, this article provides empirical insights into tensions among these interested parties in a major French metropolis. Framing cities as arenas of competing wildlife governance norms, it draws on the concept of ecological frontiers to analyze social conflicts arising from human – urban boar co-occurrence. Using an inductive approach, the study examines how access to, control over, and defense of territory reflect deeper disputes. Findings reveal two main types of conflict – struggles for social recognition and ideological divergences – at both individual and institutional levels. These tensions shape management boundaries, often misaligned with the species’ actual spatial behavior. Addressing these underlying conflicts is essential for more coherent and adaptive urban wildlife management policies.

Abstract. Some wildlife species can successfully adapt to urban environments. To prevent potential conflict of these species with humans or their pets, a better understanding of the presence of urban wildlife is needed. However, traditional monitoring methods are often inadequate because many privately owned properties are inaccessible. In this study, we analyse reports of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus or E. roumanicus) and badgers (Meles meles) provided by two long-term citizen science projects in the city of Vienna, Austria – stadtwildtiere.at and roadkill.at – to assess habitat preferences and potential ecological interactions. Vienna has a human population of about 2×106 and covers an area of 415 km2, 50 % of which is green space in the form of forests, parks and private gardens. A total of 356 hedgehog and 918 badger sightings were reported between 2012 and 2023. Sightings of both species were positively associated with a mix of sealed/built-up areas and green spaces with meadows and shrubs. However, sightings of both species were negatively associated with arable land, most likely due to the avoidance of open terrain, reduced food availability or simply because both nocturnal species were more difficult to spot on dark arable land. The steeper the slope of a habitat, the fewer hedgehogs were reported, whereas for badgers, a positive correlation between slope and reports was observed in areas with built-up fractions over 15 %. Overall, we observed hardly any hedgehog reports in areas in which badgers were reported. We conclude that citizen science wildlife monitoring can be a good data source to better understand human–wildlife interactions and could therefore be a model for other urban areas and species.

BackgroundUrban environments exert strong pressures on animal behavior, leading to altered fear responses to humans. Species with a longer history of urban presence and greater tolerance to urban environments are expected to show reduced fear responses towards humans. Here, we examined whether avian flight initiation distance (a proxy of fear)—the distance at which a bird flees from an approaching human—is associated with a species’ timing of urban colonization (i.e., when it has started to breed in urban areas) and with present-day urban tolerance (i.e., how common it is in the city). Unlike previous studies which paired avian fear responses and urbanization timing from different regions, we collected both in the same city (Prague, Czechia), minimizing regional differences in urban history and providing a more rigorous test of the link between urbanization timing and avian fear responses.ResultsUsing standardized data from 4420 flight initiation distance observations across 68 species, we applied Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models while controlling for ecological and contextual variables. We found that species with a longer urban history (i.e., earlier timing of urban colonization) showed significantly shorter flight initiation distances, suggesting reduced fear responses. In contrast, present-day urban tolerance based on breeding commonness was not related to flight initiation distance variation.ConclusionsWe found that the timing of urban colonization better predicts reduced fear of humans in birds than present-day urban tolerance, emphasizing the role of long-term behavioral filtering and/or selection in shaping urban wildlife behavior. By explicitly separating urbanization time from contemporary urban commonness within a single city and analyzing individual-level fear responses, our study shows that earlier urban colonizers exhibit consistently shorter escape distances, reflecting cumulative long-term processes rather than short-term plasticity alone. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating urban colonization history into behavioral ecology and urban wildlife management frameworks.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-025-02427-0.

ABSTRACT Urban animals are subject to distinct regimes of authority working towards making urban spaces inhabitable or uninhabitable for them. These regimes build on, and reproduce, categorisations of animals, for example, as domestic or wild, or as protected or invasive species. The presence of two specific animal species in Hagen and Wuppertal, the wild boar and the raccoon, as well as evolving debates within and beyond the regimes of authority supposed to regulate them, expose the limits of, and breaks between, these regimes as well as contestations beyond them. Thus, raccoons and wild boars are “awkward animals” in that they question the regimes of authority regulating their presence in cities and related spatial orderings; bring to the fore the contestations, negotiations and subversions already inherent in dominant visions of the urban and animals therein; and inspire new perspectives on urban place-making with and beyond animals.

Black mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis) as novel bioindicators of urban heavy metal pollution.

In this study, the potential of co-opting anthropomorphism as an artistic strategy to develop human affiliations with non-human species, especially with those significantly other to humans, is considered. I present my perspective as artist-researcher in reference to my relational artwork, The Visitor Centre (2016–2018), which was created as a mobile hub to encourage empathy and care for non-human species in urban environments. Informed by relational ontologies, including assemblage theory, care ethics, and empathy studies, the artwork employs anthropomorphism as a strategy to challenge human exceptionalism. Wearing a frontal pouch containing artworks, I invited public engagement by handing out objects to stimulate conversations about urban wildlife. During a series of events, participants were nudged to navigate the moral difficulties that restrict human–non-human species relationships, as evidenced in their conversations. The Visitor Centre speaks to a growing interest within diverse knowledge fields in the function and potential of anthropomorphism to alleviate the limitations imposed on non-human species. As existing and shared procedures of multispecies reciprocity are poorly understood at present, it is proposed that the absurd prompts located in artworks such as The Visitor Centre, in combination with embodied and dialogic approaches, can bring participants closer to existing but unseen multispecies sociability.

Background: Rapid urbanization in Sindh, Pakistan, especially in cities like Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur, fosters close human interactions with urban birds such as pigeons, sparrows, and mynahs. These birds serve as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens (e.g., Chlamydia psittaci, Salmonella spp., Cryptococcus neoformans) which can cause respiratory infections in humans. Environmental factors like pollution and poor waste management exacerbate exposure risks by impairing lung defenses and facilitating pathogen transmission. Objectives: To assess the association between urban bird exposure and respiratory health outcomes among adults aged 25-45 years in Sindh’s major cities, incorporating environmental pollution and other confounders. Methods: A six-month cross-sectional analytical epidemiological study (March to August 2024) was conducted on a stratified random sample of 600 adults (200 each from Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur), stratified by bird exposure levels. Data combined human surveys, biological sampling (avian droppings and blood), and environmental sampling (soil, water, PM2.5 levels). Pathogen detection used PCR and culture methods. Respiratory symptoms and risk factors were analyzed via descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression models. Results: Prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in urban birds: Chlamydia psittaci (18%), Salmonella spp. (12%), Cryptococcus neoformans (8%), highest in Karachi. Respiratory symptom prevalence was significantly higher in individuals with high bird exposure (43.3%) compared to low exposure (23%). Logistic regression showed high bird exposure increased odds of respiratory symptoms by 2.53 times (95% CI: 1.80–3.56, p < 0.001), even after adjusting for PM2.5 pollution, smoking status, occupation, age, and gender. PM2.5 pollution and smoking also significantly increased respiratory risk. Age and gender were not significant predictors. Conclusions: Urban birds in Sindh harbor significant zoonotic respiratory pathogens, and high exposure is strongly linked with increased respiratory symptoms among urban adults. This risk is compounded by environmental pollution and smoking. The study underscores the urgent need for integrated One Health interventions including surveillance, public education, urban wildlife management, and pollution control to mitigate zoonotic respiratory disease burden in rapidly urbanizing South Asian cities.

Humans impact wildlife positively and negatively, and increasing evidence shows that humans potentially play a major role in shaping urban wildlife cognition. However, it remains unclear which, and how specific anthropogenic factors, shape animal cognitive performance. Here, across 15 urban areas in Oulu, Finland, we investigated how varied levels of human presence nearby, types of human activity (walking, dog-walking, cycling, and playground activities), and distance to the nearest footpaths influenced 64 squirrels’ innovative problem-solving ability—measured as the proportion of solving success at the site level, solving outcome at the individual level as well as individuals’ first-success latency. Higher mean human presence nearby and all measured human activities significantly decreased the proportion of success at the site level. Playground activity showed the highest negative impact on both the first- and subsequent-visit success rate at the site level. Increased mean human presence and walking decreased the likelihood of a squirrel successfully solving the novel food-extraction problem. When examining the problem-solving latency of individual squirrels, increased human presence also decreased squirrels’ first-success latency, and dog-walking was the outstanding factor affecting first-success latency. These results show the negative effects of specific human-related factors on an important cognitive trait, problem-solving ability. These factors may also potentially exert selective pressure on shaping urban wildlife cognition.

To understand diseases of wild urban jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii), we autopsied 130 individuals that died near roadways in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Renal hamartomas were present in 8 of 130 hares (6.2%; 95% confidence interval: 3.2%-11.7%). Most were unilateral (7/8); one case had bilateral lesions. Hamartomas are benign, tumor-like lesions comprised of normal tissue elements in abnormal amounts and arrangements. Macroscopically, hamartomas were white, tan, or pink-red, well-circumscribed, singular or multilobular, expansile nodules in the cortex or corticomedullary junction. Histologically, renal hamartomas consisted of well-demarcated mature stromal tissue with fibrous tissue and occasionally, adipocyte differentiation. These results represent a unique temporal and geographical cluster of a renal anomaly in an urban wildlife population. Renal hamartomas were not identified in other large studies of diseases in free-ranging leporids including hares. Contributing factors to this cluster remain unknown.

Urban resident attitudes toward hunting and venison: A case study of Kyoto City, Japan.

The black-tufted marmoset (Callithrix penicillata), commonly found in urban areas of Central Brazil, is vulnerable to pathogen spillover from domestic animals and humans. Here, we report an outbreak of natural canine distemper virus (CDV) infection among urbanized free-ranging black-tufted marmosets. Five fatalities occurred in marmosets living in a neighborhood with unvaccinated dogs. Clinically, affected marmosets had lethargy, ataxia, mucocutaneous ulcerations, and crusting lesions. Postmortem findings included epithelial erosions, interstitial pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, and suppurative myocarditis, frequently associated with secondary bacterial infections. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) confirmed the presence of CDV antigen in multiple organs, and secondary bacterial infections were common, involving species, such as Bordetella, Haemophilus, and Streptococcus. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated paramyxovirus-like inclusion bodies and metagenomic sequencing identified a novel CDV variant. Phylogenetic analyses placed this strain within the Europe 1/South America 1 lineage, closely related to domestic dog-derived strains from the region. Comparative H gene analysis uncovered unique R519I substitutions in the CDV marmoset variant, suggesting potential for cross-species adaptation. This study provides evidence that CDV can naturally infect free-living New World primates, with possible implications for animal health, conservation, and interspecies transmission. These findings highlight the vulnerability of urban wildlife to CDV spillover from domestic dogs and emphasize the importance of monitoring pathogen transmission at the human–animal interface from a One Health perspective.

Urban wildlife conservation is emerging as a critical component of sustainable city ecosystems. Rather than simply increasing tree abundance or species richness, conservation management should focus on key species. In this research, Xishan Forest Park in Beijing was chosen as a case study. Our aim was to identify keystone taxa critical for avian foraging and nesting during the breeding season. We performed a network analysis linking bird species, their diets, and nest plants. Dietary components were detected using DNA metabarcoding conducted with avian fecal samples. Nest plants were identified via transect surveys. Two indices of the network, degree and weighted mean degree, were calculated to evaluate the importance of the dietary and nest plant species. We identified 13 bird host species from 107 fecal samples and 14 bird species from 107 nest observations. Based on the degree indices, fruit trees Morus and Prunus were detected as key food sources, exhibiting both the highest degree (degree = 9, 9) and weighted mean degree (lnwMD = 5.21, 4.63). Robinia pseudoacacia provided predominant nesting sites, with a predominant degree of 7. A few taxa, such as Styphnolobium japonicum and Rhamnus parvifolia, served dual ecological significance as both essential food sources and nesting substrates. Scrublands, as a unique habitat type, provided nesting sites and food for small-bodied birds. Therefore, targeted management interventions are recommended to sustain or enhance these keystone resource species and to maintain the multi-layered vertical vegetation structure to preserve the diverse habitats of birds.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) become increasingly available devices with extensive usage as environmental monitoring systems. With the benefit of higher mobility, UAVs are applied to fuel various significant uses in computer vision (CV), providing more effectiveness and accessibility than surveillance cameras with permanent camera view, angle, and scale. Nevertheless, owing to camera motion and composite environments, it is problematic to identify the UAV; conventional models frequently miss UAV detection and make false alarms. Drone-equipped cameras monitor objects at changing altitudes, leading to essential scale variants. The model increases targeted accuracy and decreases false positives using real-time data and machine learning (ML) methods. Its enormous applications range from military operations to urban planning and wildlife monitoring. Therefore, this study develops a novel long-term target detection and tracking model for unmanned aerial vehicles using a deep fusion-based convolutional transform learning (LTTDT–UAVDFCTL) model. The LTTDT–UAVDFCTL model presents a new model to improve the robustness and accuracy of target tracking and detection in scale-variant environments. At first, the presented LTTDT–UAVDFCTL technique performs image pre-processing by utilizing the median median-enhanced wiener filter (MEWF) technique to improve clarity and reduce noise. For object detection (OD), the highly accurate YOLOv8 technique is utilized, followed by feature extraction through a backbone deep fusion-based convolutional transform learning of VGG16, CapsNet, and EfficientNetB7 to capture both spatial and hierarchical features across varying scales. Moreover, the graph convolutional neural network (GCN) technique is employed for long-term target detection and tracking models. Finally, the hybrid nonlinear whale optimization algorithm with sine cosine (SCWOA) is implemented for the optimum choice of the hyperparameters involved in the GCN technique. The experimental study of the LTTDT–UAVDFCTL approach is performed under the VisDrone dataset. The performance validation of the LTTDT–UAVDFCTL approach portrayed a superior mAP value of 80.13% over existing models.

This article examined the contribution of an urban wildlife education centre, in promoting visitor connection to nature and awareness of conservation concerns. The study adopted a post-visitor appraisal quantitative survey approach on knowledge, attitudes and practices of visitors in relation to green spaces; individual action towards wildlife and environmental conservation; and level of use of signages and interpretations facilities. Our study revealed that upon visiting the facility, majority of the respondents had a better understanding of wildlife and the ecosystems; had learnt something new about wildlife and environmental conservation; and importance of sustainable tourism. Additionally, most of the respondents affirmed that their individual actions can significantly promote conservation measures, with a minor a population understanding how they can contribute to nature conservation This study stresses the contribution of wildlife education centres and green spaces in availing hands-on experiential lifelong knowledge essential for positive behaviour change and empathic human-wildlife-environment interventions.

Abstract Our study presents a comprehensive method for measuring the distribution of urban wildlife and human-wildlife conflicts based on citizen reports. We investigate the ecological and social factors affecting the distribution of synurbic wild boars (Sus scrofa) and related human-wildlife conflicts within Haifa, northern Israel. Using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) species distribution modeling, we analyzed 2,921 citizen reports of wild boar sightings collected between January 2014 and May 2016. We modeled two distribution maps predicting: (1) wild boar presence, and (2) human-wild boar conflict within the city. Our models incorporated both ecological variables (e.g., normalized difference vegetation index, built area density, distance to nature reserves) and social variables (e.g., human population and density, socioeconomic status). The results of the wild boar habitat suitability model confirm previous studies, associating boar presence with the availability and fragmentation of green areas. In contrast, the conflict model suggests that human-boar conflicts are primarily linked to human population size, density, and socioeconomic status. Notably, areas with higher socioeconomic status exhibited a greater likelihood of reported conflicts, even after controlling for ecological factors. This study highlights the importance of integrating both ecological and social factors in understanding and managing urban human-wildlife conflicts. Our findings suggest that effective management strategies should consider the ecological needs of urban wildlife along with the social and economic contexts of urban neighborhoods.

In June 2025, a two-year-old female brown bear (Ursus arctos) appeared in the streets of Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. This sparked significant public, institutional, and media responses. This paper analyzes the event through ecological, social, and symbolic lenses to explore how large carnivores are perceived and managed at the wildland-urban interface. Through an examination of media reports, policy responses, and theoretical perspectives from environmental sociology and narrative studies, we explore how the bear's presence became a public safety concern and a culturally significant symbol. Public discourse revealed tensions between institutional authority and local ethical values, as evidenced by hunters' refusal to carry out a kill permit. This case also illustrates the growing use of technology, such as drones, in urban wildlife management. The bear's peaceful departure reinforced the effectiveness of nonlethal conflict resolution. This case underscores the importance of integrating ecological realities with social perceptions, media framing, and symbolic interpretations in large carnivore conservation. It emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches that address the emotional and cultural aspects of human-wildlife interactions in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Human interactions with wildlife range from conflict (negative) to coexistence (positive or neutral). The scientific interest in this topic is increasing rapidly, although the terminology used varies among authors. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of literature on human–wildlife interaction, conflict, and coexistence (HWCICx) from 1987 to October 2023 using Scopus data analyzed with VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix package in R. An exponential rise in publications was identified between 1995 and 2022, confirming HWCICx as an emerging yet robust research field. The United States and the United Kingdom lead in publication volume and international collaboration, whereas researchers from Asia and Latin America show growing involvement. Journals specializing in ecology, conservation, and wildlife, such as Biological Conservation, Oryx, and Human–Wildlife Interactions, dominate the field, although newer specialized journals are gaining visibility. Predominant research topics include carnivore–livestock conflicts and species conservation. However, new areas of interest are emerging, including urban wildlife interactions and the sociocultural aspects of coexistence. This study offers an updated overview of the evolution of HWCICx research and highlights the need for integrated natural and social science approaches to develop sustainable models of coexistence.

Urbanization affects wildlife species, particularly in wildland-urban interfaces. In the rapidly urbanizing landscape of Assam in India, we explored the relationship between urban expansion and wildlife conservation, focusing on the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca). We assessed the land use and land cover changes, human-leopard interactions, and habitat suitability analysis of leopard. We also estimated the relative leopard abundance based on suitable patches within the free space in Guwahati using human building dataset. Our analysis shows that built-up areas have expanded from 6.23% in 1989 to 16.99% in 2019, while natural habitats vital for leopard have substantially reduced from 11.39 to 0.33%, respectively. Our survey in buffer zones around key forest areas indicates a growing trend in interactions, leading to a decrease in free space vital for leopard abundance. We estimated that Guwahati city can currently support 14 leopards (38-8 SD) within the existing landscape, but increased urban development could reduce this number to 4 (10-2 SD). Our study highlights the challenges of wildlife conservation in urban landscapes and the need for strategies that balance urban development with biodiversity protection. Our findings align with Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which emphasizes managing human-wildlife interactions to reduce conflicts and foster coexistence by 2030.