LIVING WITH FRIENDS

    As the population grows, there is less and less habitable area on earth. For this reason, the population density in certain areas increases beyond a point and become urban centers. When these urban centers start intruding onto natural resources, we also intrude onto local wildlife.

                One of the fundamental concerns of urban ecology is how to deal with invading animals. The rats that live in our attics, the squirrels in the parks, the termites in the houses, the moles in our lawns and the weeds in our gardens are not invading us, but vice-versa. As we push the boundaries between our worlds, creatures of all sorts have adapted to an urban life.

                Urban ecologists understand that we will never be able to exterminate all wildlife from our urban areas. With this assumption, they try to understand the needs of wildlife and develop cities that take that into account. Wildlife professors Clark Adams, Sara Ash and Kieran Lindsey wrote a book called Urban Wildlife Management that talks about these strategies. They explain how distress calls can be used to lure dangerous animals outside of the city walls. They also suggest having designated areas that can be used to attract animals. This way, they explain, we can all live symbiotically.

                These thoughts might be idealistic but they offer some solution to the growing trend of urban wildlife.