Feral Cities (20 page)

Urban red foxes were first spotted in 1930s London. Today, aided by their adaptability, they are found in cities throughout the world, making them one of the most successful urban animals around.
COURTESY OF DERK EHLERT

The western diamondback rattlesnake that found shelter in a Scottsdale, Arizona, garage.
TRISTAN DONOVAN

If the cap fits: the gopher snake that got itself trapped in a sprinkler cover in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
TRISTAN DONOVAN

Wilfredo Valladares of Miami's Neighborhood Enhancement Team with a chicken caught in Little Haiti. Just several thousand more to go.
TRISTAN DONOVAN

A giant African land snail, the cause of the biggest pest control operation ever launched by the Florida Department of Agriculture.
TRISTAN DONOVAN

Iguanas are so common in Miami that many residents think that they are native to the city.
TRISTAN DONOVAN

The tagged female boa that lives on the Deering Estate, fifteen miles south of downtown Miami.
COURTESY OF ADRIAN DIAZ

European starlings gathering in the skies around the Chase Tower in downtown Indianapolis.
COURTESY OF USDA WILDLIFE SERVICES

Berlin's wild boar problems have led the German capital to recruit a team of city hunters.
COURTESY OF DERK EHLERT

Former Park Inn hotel resident Alex, the most famous of Berlin's raccoons.
COURTESY OF DERK EHLERT