Urban Wildlife
Urban wildlife
By Isaac Rath and Katie Milesky
Photos by Isaac Rath
People often think they have to go to a big, open area like Yellowstone or Africa to see wildlife, but what most people don't realize is that there is actually a lot of wildlife just in their backyard or neighborhood. Most of the time, these areas arent viewed as a home for wildlife, but as humankind has built cities and roads over their habitat, certain animals have been forced to adapt to the changing environment, leave, or die. Some animals have learned not just to survive in these urban areas, but even to thrive. If you look closely and provide an opportunity, the wildlife will reappear and make themselves at home. Squirrels and small song birds are some of the most common wildlife found in backyards. But where you have pray animals, you will eventually find some predators. Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper's Hawks, and Red-shouldered Hawks, raccoons, coyotes, fox, and other animals have learned to adjust their habits to be able to survive in a human-ruled world.
Some songbirds utilize feeders that people put out during their migration as a stopover point on their way south. Historically, where the houses are now used to be wide open fields and forests for these birds to build their homes and find food. Feeders are a nice additional food source we provide for them, since we took many of their food sources away by limiting the open spaces for them to find insects and seeds.
Unfortunately, with the influx of humans in an area comes an increase in pets, and allowing pets to roam outdoors can result in the spread of diseases through their feces, animals being scared away from their homes, abandoning their nests and young, and even local wildlife being killed. Even worse is the feral cat population that has skyrocketed over the past few years. These domestic wildcats have little to no predators and can decimate the urban wildlife populations. Some organizations work on decreasing the feral cat population, but this is hard work and relies on the dedication and hard work of their staff and the donations of the public. On that note, for the remainder of the month of October 2025, 20% of our proceeds from calendar sales will be donated to a local cat rescue in Cincinnati - Ohio, Alley Cat Resource (OAR) and Spay/Nueter Clinic. This is where Katie adopted her beloved cat, Steve, back in 2021, and they also provide TNR (Trap, Nueter, Release) services, where they help keep the population of feral cats in the city down. You can read more about what they do by visiting their website here:
