Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
woodlots—because food and nest boxes are provided. The density of raccoons
in suburban Cincinnati approaches that of people (1.7 versus 2.7 per acre, respec-
tively). Shelter provided in the neighborhoods—church attics, abandoned
buildings, and sewers—bolster raccoon numbers well above those of typical
woodlands. In southern California's Santa Monica Mountains near the subdi-
visions of Los Angeles, every one hundred acres supports a coyote, a tenfold
increase over more distant, less developed areas. California coyotes near people
supplement a natural diet of mice and rabbits with trash, livestock of al, and
fruit; in Seattle they add cats to the menu. Other moderately sized omnivores,
such as badgers in the United Kingdom, skunks and bears in the United States,
hyenas in South Africa, dingoes in Australia, and wolves, foxes, and raccoon
dogs in Europe, also likely reach extreme densities in our well-stocked cities
and suburbs.
The warmth of cities also attracts some tolerant mammals. Foxes and coy-
otes often seek warm den sites on cleared slopes or where asphalt radiates its
acquired solar heat to the surrounding land. Large, nomadic fruit bats take it
one step farther. Southern Australia is no place for a big bat that thrives in the
humidity and heat of more tropical northern latitudes. In Melbourne, how-
ever, irrigation has increased humidity, while buildings and pavement have
increased temperatures. Both changes are to the liking of grey-headed l ying
foxes. As this nomadic bat wandered, some discovered Melbourne's Royal
Botanic Gardens, where lush vegetation was a perfect substitute for their typ-
ical tropical forest farther north, so they camped in large roosts, numbering
upwards of twenty thousand. So abundant were they that by 1986 they dam-
aged a number of rare, heritage trees. (If you've ever looked a l ying fox in the
eye, you'd know that it wasn't just the tree damage that caught the attention of
Melbourne park staf . It was also the stench of several thousand two-pound
bats, the males of which secrete pungent oil to mark their territory and attract
mates. With the warming ef ects of climate change, we might expect more
tropical visitors to high-latitude cities, with odiferous results.)
