Humans Have Taken Habitats from Animals, Now They Are Occupying Cities

The expansion of cities and population growth are impacting the reduction of natural habitats, which has led to changes in the habits of wild animals that have adapted to new circumstances by moving into urban areas, reports BBC.

Red kites, raptors with a wingspan of nearly two meters, fly above supermarkets and shopping centers, hunting between residential skyscrapers in cities across many parts of England and Scotland. Their meals consist of carcasses along roads and highways, and they also feed on scraps left by people in their gardens.

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In the very center of Berlin, at Alexanderplatz, as well as in other busy places in the city, wild boars roam freely. It is estimated that there are as many as 3,000 of these animals living in the German metropolis, which often cause traffic accidents, train delays, and incidents with dogs and people, leading the local environmental organization to receive calls almost daily. There is one person in the city licensed to ‘reduce’ the boar population, but due to hunting restrictions and a lack of natural predators, their numbers are not decreasing.

White cockatoos with yellow crests are on the endangered species list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. These parrots are victims of mass trapping as highly sought-after pets worldwide, and their numbers have also declined due to pesticides, food shortages, and heavy rains. However, as much as 10 percent of the total population, around 200 white cockatoos, have found refuge in the middle of Hong Kong.

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New York is home to coyotes that roam Queens and Central Park, feeding on food scraps. This relative of the gray wolf can be found throughout the U.S., from Chicago to Los Angeles and from Boston to Austin, in abandoned buildings and parking lots.

Mumbai, on the other hand, has a problem with leopards. About forty individuals live in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the suburbs, but in search of food, they wander into residential areas, causing fear among the residents. However, leopards also protect their human neighbors from rabies as they feed on stray dogs.