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It's easy to speak out for endangered species halfway across the globe but what we do when we confront the furry, the feathered, or the multi-legged in our own neighborhood may say more about our feelings for the natural world. Think about it: what could be greener than to seek out nature in the most concrete of jungles and to appreciate what you find even if it is often maligned? You know, rooting for the underdog and all. After all, people, pigeons need love, too.
As a lifetime resident of New York City, my daily interactions with non-human animals are shaped by my urban environs and I'd like to share some of that experience with you. The creatures we'll encounter on our Big Apple safari are often labeled "invasive" or "pest" or much worse. But perceptions can change with a little open-minded exploration.
Perhaps if some of these species seemed a little less, uh, indestructible, we might feel more connected to them as citizens of a beleaguered planet. You know all those stories about how both rats and roaches will outlive humans even in the case of nuclear war? Well, not so fast. In his book, The World Without Us, author Alan Weisman tells of how the "seemingly invincible cockroach" (a tropical import) would freeze in unheated buildings in a post-human world while rats would starve without manmade garbage and/or become "lunch for the raptors nesting in burnt-out skyscrapers."
With that specter in mind, let's show some love for...
10 Often-Maligned Creatures that Call the Big Apple Home
I. Birds
1. Pigeons
The Rock Pigeon is originally from Europe, Northern Africa, and India but was introduced into North America by the1600s. Since then, of course, its numbers have increased as urbanization has increased. Interestingly, the Rock Pigeon is often despised while conversely its all-white cousins-the Dove-remain a beloved symbol of peace. Could this be a case of avian racism?) New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said: "We do have a lot of pigeons and they do tend to foul a lot of our areas." Just for the hell of it, let's replace the word "pigeons" with the word "corporations" in Bloomberg's statement. Better fit, huh?
2. Starlings
The next time you hear warbling, gurgling, chirruping, and clicking noises, it just might be a European Starling. These birds often imitate many other species (animals as well as birds), along with manmade sounds like car alarms and telephones. Every European Starling in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s when a group decided to introduce America to all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's. Thanks to this rather ill-informed idea, you can now find over 200 million European Starlings across much of North America and the US Department of Agriculture has named them an invasive species. I can think of a more invasive species...
3. Sparrows
In 1853, the future founders of the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens set free several pairs of the previously unknown European House Sparrow inside Brooklyn's Green-wood Cemetery. By picking hayseeds out of horse droppings from the carts used for funerals, these tiny birds flourished and are today one of the continent's most ubiquitous creatures. We can take a cue from the sparrows and, when we're fed crap from the top, pick out the metaphorical hayseeds that enable us to not only survive, but to thrive.
II. Rodents
4. Squirrels
Loved by some, reviled by others, the clever and persistent NYC squirrel is ubiquitous. But before you pre-judge this intelligent and playful rodent, you might wanna attend a Parks Department event and learn more. For now, I can tell you that when on vacation, squirrels seem to enjoy water skiing.
5. Mice
The house mouse is roughly 2-3 inches long, gray-brown, with an almost naked tail sometimes longer than its body. Needing only about l/10 ounce of food each day and able to live without access to fresh water, the house mouse is durable and adaptive...to say the least. If you find your home to be overrun with mice, get busy building a humane mouse trap.
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| Anup Shah/Getty Images |
6. Rats
How many rats call NYC home? Estimates range from 48 to 96 million. My mission: to remove--even by a tiny bit--the automatic negative association with these amazing rodents. Perhaps if you knew more about them? A rat can fit through an opening that is just one half inch wide, can breath under water for two minutes, can swim for three days before it drowns, and can chew through concrete. When rats were pitted against college students to learn their way through a maze, the rats learned three times faster than the students. If you're still not feeling it for your average Norway rat maybe I should tell you that it's the only animal other than man which has been scientifically proven to both laugh and dream.
7. Bats
Fun fact: The Chinese character for bat sounds the same as the character for luck. Bats eat insects (like mosquitoes), they are critical pollinators of wild plants, and some bats even disperse seeds. None of them, as far as we know, transform into Bela Lugosi when the sun goes down.
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| George Doyle/Getty Images |
III. Domestic/Stray
8. & 9. Cats and Dogs
You don't have to be a cat lady to know the Big Apple is home to approximately eight zillion cats and dogs. Many of them, of course, are without homes and could use some help. For felines, contact Kitty Kind. For canines, try Mighty Mutts. If you already have a dog or cat companion, you should consider greening this arrangement.
IV. Last But Certainly Not Least
10. Cockroaches
This includes the insect we call "roaches" and the larger version usually known as a "waterbug," which is really an American Roach (Periplaneta americana) and can reach up to 2 1/8 inches in length. I know it's virtually impossible to show love for this final safari contestant but I'll try with a few roach facts:
- Crushed cockroaches when applied to a wound, can help ease the sting
- Cockroaches have white blood
- Roaches primarily come out for water, not food
- Cockroaches can live a month without food, but only a week without water
- A roach can live a week without a head; it dies after a week due to lack of water
- One more thing: Roaches are hopeless romantics
Video: Urban Homestead
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