Feral this/Urban that

[Sirocco 0]

I live in the north east and from the top floor of Sirocco towers can see the eston hills, but with the houses and heavy industries this has to be classed as Urban, I regularly see foxes walking the streets/raiding the bins outside the chippie,

also Hedgehogs that i have to pick up and place them ont other side of the road in the direction that they were ambling

(even after eons of evolution they still think they are invinsible),

 

Magpies (once truly a country bird) are becoming very successfull in our built up areas (as well as becoming a predominant species in the wild) the lil Pipistrelle bats moving into towns they seem to love getting under those corrugated roofs to nest, we also have urban rabbits, but they are scavenging moth eaten looking things.

 

Buzzards i can watch soaring on thermals very close to houses, its not unusual to hear the screach of an owl after dark, again all now urban, i know there will be others that can increase the list for me, but this is not the point.

 

Why ?, its not for an easier living, as i watch some of them scratching hard to exhist, and there has been no loss of green/open ground around here, ive asked and heard all the crackpot thearies, Global warming etc, but here is the thing i cant get me wrinkly ole head around, moving into towns the wildlife has to take on, and conquer a whole new set of problems,

but it is happening, the wildlife IS moving in,

 

any decent theories guys ?

 

SIROCCO.....

[BlueCoyote 0]

i think its just adaptation at its best.

humans are wasteful creatures..... it didnt take wolves long to figure this out.. and now we have dogs... and cat's too as a result....

other animals are just now catching on to this.

 

its adapt or die. rule of nature. global warming has nothing to do with it in my mind.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

What a cracking Post! It certainly holds out such potential for a good discussion ~ if we can only hold the " So fukkin W0T? KILL the lot of 'em! " element at bay ..... If only someone could implant a testosterone deprivative in Tesco 'Blue and White' products, eh? They put far worse in " Complete Diet " sacks of shit, after all.

 

" Global Warming " ? Not at all. I personally suspect that's what brought the 'Zitting Cisticolar' to ye southern shores and will yet bring a steady march of others. (Do ye yet see see Little Egrets from ye eyerie? Live a bit longer .....)

 

No. I think it has more to do with the expansion of urbanisation, full stop. Cities are encroaching on the countryside faster than much of the countryside can remove itself from that path. Trees can't uproot and move. Things that prefer those trees are finding themselves having to seek the trees where they remain. (Or, come to that, 'cliff faces' emerge? Tower block Peregrines?) And genetics pull them, perhaps? Ravens are said to live as long as some men. They don't give up a faithful tree easily.

 

Things like foxes, badgers, buzzards and hedgehogs? Surely they're just finding the 'towns' they were born and brought up in are changing around them too? Thus they adapt, as best they can, and mate and give birth to their own next generation. Those to make the best of what they find themselves living in.

 

Main trouble, as I see it, is not natures ability to respond and adapt - in many cases. It's more Mans grasp of what he's doing. Not that 'Man' gives a f*ck. But by picking and choosing the 'cute' creatures, 'we' are tipping the balance against those which Joe Public has no disneyesqe concept of.

 

Badgers, foxes, magpies, rabbits? Ask any inner city born and bred Tesco shopper and they'll have an opinion.

 

Mention Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipets and watch the indrawn, vaccuous response in their eyes.

 

Ban Magpie Traps? 'Absolutely!' (They'll cry). Feed the wild birds? 'Oh, but only when it's snowing!' The idiots declare.

 

Ask them about Red Kites and be prepared for the total vacuation of their pasty faces. Other than what the Sun may have spoon fed them about the reintroductions. FFS!

 

 

Best bit is when ye ask them their opion of George Abbey and his " The Balance of Nature ". Idiots haven't a f*cking clue what ye on about! George was, in my own opinion, a bit short of the 'modern' mark. But at least he gave the matters of his time some honest, less biased, consideration.

[SEAN3513 7]

the towns and citys have spread out to the countryside with no clear defining border, as there used to be.........there always seemed to be somthung between the edge of town and the countryside............small scale industrial estates, and the like.

 

along with the fact that were a bunch of dirty buggers and urban pickings are easy pickings for the less shy critters, no urban otters yet??

 

my step son lives in london and he sees more foxes now than he did living here in the lakes.

 

the difference is our foxes are red..........stunning red.

 

the ones he sees are red/grey............concrete grey at that..............evolution????

 

great post.....................its ( hopefully) going to bring some curious answers.

 

 

as ditch says....................."kill em, shoot em, eat em, drive over em, answers- cant be compiled into serious debate and help us to understand!!

 

nice one sirocco

 

regards

 

sean

Edited May 22, 2008 by SEAN3513

[mackem 23,828]

Wildlife in London?I can show you munties within the M25 fox are EVERYWHERE,I dont even notice them now,you become blase to their presence,parrots,woodpeckers,theres a neighbourhood sparrowhawk,grass-snakes..........

[Malt 379]

It's nothing new, it's been going on for centuries. They reckon 500 years ago, the red kite was as common a sight as the crow in the big centres of human population.

[mackem 23,828]

I know a few places in Essex where its not uncommon to see fallow deer in the streets

[anton 0]

adaptation....... had heard reports of deer in our local town as well doesn't suprise me ...... mother nature you can kick her down but, she will get back up stronger than ever.

Magpies whats the theory there then ? i'm sure there are more this year, human rubbish ?

 

cheers

anton

[cúagusgiorraí 57]

Mankind are building their cities and extending them into wildlife's territory.

Some animals are adaptive enough to take advantage of this new 'urban jungle'.

But what I ask is,

What is better for the animal, to live in the countryside or the city?

 

Surely the country life is better.....

Can you say the same for Man? Is it better for Mankind to live in the countryside?

[sandymere 8,261]

"Why ?, its not for an easier living, as i watch some of them scratching hard to exhist,...." (Sirocco)

 

for many it is an easier living, town foxes don't have to catch their dinner it's just taken from the nearest bin outside the takaway or fed to them by a 'kindly animal lover'. For peregrines there's an abundance of starlings and feral pidgeons in our cities. The urban environment is a patchwork of habitats that suit many native and non native creatures against the countrysides, often, sterile monocultures.

[BlueCoyote 0]

But what I ask is,

What is better for the animal, to live in the countryside or the city?

 

Surely the country life is better.....

Can you say the same for Man? Is it better for Mankind to live in the countryside?

i think that depends on who you are and your own beliefs.

i'm adaptable as hell. i have lived in many places and did fine in all of them (once the shock wore off) but i PREFER the country. no chance of getting run over by a stray city bus out here!

but take some people out of the city and they'll stand there staring at you like "WTF do i do now??" ...kinda like my husband, come to think of it lol he only came to the country for me. he'd rather pave the whole place flat and erect a giant garage for all his muscle cars! his parents? well his dad is from the country, his mom would be dead within a week from all the "filth".. claims she is allergic to everything.... once again

 

as for animals in the wild... its up to them and how well they can adapt and learn what areas to avoid or the time of day they can come out and eat without being harmed or harassed. in the states a lot of places have inner city coyotes and foxes. some people(who dont live in that city, or dont pay attention) are shocked to see these animals... but the locals arent. one girl i talked to recently lives in some California city or another, next to a nature preserve.. and they have coyotes coming and going, snatching pets or eating garbage. one even tried to run away with a toddler (had him by the head and was running like hell) but the kids mom beat him off.

 

in the end we either adapt alongside nature all over again or "kill'em all" ..... i prefer to adapt and kill when i have to. i want to kick my dad's ass because of his stance on bears.... he sets up feeding stations for his precious white tail deer and the beers sometimes break into it.... so any time he sees a bear he shoots it in the gut and lets it run off to die somewhere else. first off... feeding stations is NOT hunting. thats setting up bait for an easy kill. second... i look down on anyone who thinks its ok to gut shoot an animal on purpose. my dad and i have some issues over this..

Edited May 22, 2008 by BlueCoyote

[Guest greengrass123]

Could it be modern farming methods that are having a knock on effect. Any one who has tried to dig earthworms in the country while fishing will soon realise they are as rare as rocking horse shit. The area were i live has seen a big increase in roe deer, foxes are so common ive seen them wandering about near built up areas in daylight, certain breeds of birds are far more numerous. Back to modern farming methods are they not producing sterile enviroments forcing certain species to move nearer towns to obtain their food source. It seems the more adaptable ones will survive while the selective feeders, and terretorial species may fall by the wayside.

[kirstysdad 827]

I know a few places in Essex where its not uncommon to see fallow deer in the streets

i know those streets and see them all the time all the locals complain about them eating their plants also the same area is covered in foxes and i mean decent big red ones ring neck parrots muntjac within 5 miles of the city of london i live in london next to the arsenal ground and we have foxes in my street every night 10 years ago you would be lucky to see them this far into the city now you see them every day used to drive my terriers mad they could smell them all the time now they only kick of if one comes though the garden

[mackem 23,828]

Theres a few areas in Essex where fallow wander into the streets KD,and as you say,we have countless fox wandering the streets,I know a few areas where Munties can sometimes be seen on palying fields,and parakeets locally are a pest

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited May 23, 2008 by oneredtrim