The Big Apple is a bustling metropolis of glitzy skyscrapers and crowded sidewalks, but look beyond those concrete jungles and you’ll find a diverse population of wildlife. From black bears hunting in the Bronx to raccoons scavenging through garbage cans, urban wildlife is found all over the five boroughs.
Thanks to scientists who spend their careers bolstering robust wildlife habitats, New York City‘s parks and untouched green spaces are teeming with life.
Northern Cardinal
The iconic scarlet males and rosy-beaked females of the Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, are familiar sight in New York City parks and green spaces year-round. But a closer look at this common winter bird reveals some surprising facts. One is that this relative newbie to local lands isn’t actually native to the Northeast. Another is that it’s a lot less shy around humans than you might think, often eating seeds straight out of a hand.
Cardinals are medium-sized songbirds with a thick bill, long tail and prominent crest of feathers on the top of their head. Males are bright red over the body with a black mask covering their eyes and extending down their beaks, making them look like they’re wearing a black bib. Females are light brown with warm reddish tinges in the wings, tail and crest.
They’re non-migratory and find food by foraging on the ground and in shrubby forest edges and gardens, as well as at bird feeders. They’re also omnivores and will eat insects, seeds and snails. They form pairs during breeding season and obsessively defend their territories. Males sing a sweet, clear whistle that sounds something like a chip note.
In addition to their distinctive coloration, cards are known for their curious and friendly natures. They’re less shy around people than most other small birds and are known to eat seeds straight out of the hand. They’re also adept at memorizing the location of thousands of individual food caches that they hide throughout their territories. The Black-capped Chickadee, a smaller and more gregarious bird, is also quite common in NYC parks and green spaces. Its recognizable call is its “chick-a-dee-dee-dee.”
Mallards, a type of dabbling duck, are very common at city lakes and rivers as well as in backyards where they can feed on seeds and grub left out for them by humans. They also flit from tree to tree and plant to plant, using their broad bills to search for aquatic plants and dig up worms or insects.
White-Tailed Deer
New York City’s 30,000 acres of parkland—14% of the city—are teeming with wild animals. And that’s a good thing for New Yorkers and the wildlife that call this metropolis home. The upsurge in natural life in urban areas is a testament to decades of environmental advocacy and government-backed efforts to protect natural habitats.
The resurgence of wildlife in cities has been made possible by environmental policies aimed at controlling pollution, creating national parks, cleaning up rivers and lakes, and encouraging people to spend more time outdoors. It’s also thanks to the work of dedicated scientists who are bolstering robust wildlife habitats in city and suburban settings.
These include wooded areas, city and suburban parks, and even cultivated gardens and farmland. The food these types of landscapes provide is critical for many species, including white-tailed deer. These herbivores are specialized browsers that consume leaves, buds, shoots, fruits, nuts, grasses, and wildflowers. They can be found in a wide range of habitats, but prefer open, grassy spaces with dense shrubs and trees for cover.
While they are found in a number of states and Canadian provinces, deer populations are highest in the central part of the country. Texas has the most herds of these animals, but herds can be seen in Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin as well. Deer are very adaptable and can thrive in a number of habitats, including urban and suburban areas.
The name “white-tailed deer” refers to the color of their tail, which is white on the underside but light brown on top. They use the tail to communicate with other deer, showing it when they are alarmed or frightened.
When a herd’s ears are held in an upright position, it means the animals are alert and monitoring their surroundings for danger. They are a little more relaxed with their ears in a horizontal position, which signals that they are at ease and have no immediate danger to be concerned about.
When a herd is moving slowly and cautiously, its ears will be flattened in a more horizontal position. This is a sign that the deer is in a more defensive posture, ready to defend itself against predators and other threats.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Whether you’re a fan of birding, or simply love to watch wildlife, the city is home to four diurnal raptor species (red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, American Kestrels and Ospreys) that breed and nest year-round. The Big Apple offers ideal conditions for these hawks, including plenty of tall trees and abundant food (including rodents and other birds) to support their populations. And urban structures like bridges and buildings serve as ideal nest sites for these soaring hunters.
Red-tailed hawks—Buteo jamaicensis—are the most common of these New York City raptors. They’re easy to spot, soaring in the sky and often perching on treetops or buildings. They’re a symbol of human-wildlife coexistence, providing free pest control and helping reduce the need for rat poisons. And city residents work to make the environment more hospitable for raptors, such as by reducing the use of rat poison in areas where hawks are known to live.
In the early 1990s, one male red-tailed hawk named Pale Male established a territory in Manhattan’s ritzy Fifth Avenue neighborhood. He mated with several female hawks and sired many offspring. He became a local celebrity, inspiring a book, a documentary, and countless tourists with their binoculars.
Pale Male soared into the national spotlight in 2004 when his co-op board evicted him and his mate from their nest on the facade of 927 Fifth Avenue. The move sparked an outcry, with birders and local celebrities including actress Mary Tyler Moore weighing in. The hawks were eventually reinstalled.
The story of Pale Male is an example of a “successful coexistence between humans and wildlife,” says one city naturalist. Since that time, the population of New York City’s resident red-tailed hawks has grown, and nesting ledges on city buildings are now often in high demand.
Another raptor that calls the city home is the Northern Harrier—Hieraassus nipalus. These slim raptors are very active, gliding through the air and often hovering over open grasslands or marshes as they hunt. The harrier is sometimes mistaken for an owl, with its disc-shaped face and call that resembles a series of short, high-pitched whistles. It’s a distinctive sound, especially when compared to the chatter of other raptors.
Raccoons
New Yorkers are known as being adaptable and resourceful—qualities that can also be used to describe raccoons (Procyon lotor). In recent years, reports of these animals “taking over the city” have become increasingly common.
Raccoons thrive in urban environments because of the food and shelter they provide. The City’s parks, including Prospect Park with its large native forests and nearby residential neighborhoods with their abundant trash cans and bird feeders offer a mix of conditions that make them ideal habitat for these opportunistic omnivores.
As a solitary animal with a nocturnal lifestyle, raccoons seek out dark, quiet spots to sleep, like the attics and crawl spaces of homes or apartment complexes. They can even be found living in tree cavities, rock crevices, abandoned squirrel or rat burrows, storm sewers, or the small spaces beneath or within buildings. They are also good at identifying the potential for tasty meals, so they’re often found checking out neighborhood garbage cans or rummaging through people’s bins at a recycling center.
These smart critters are opportunistic feeders, so they’ll take advantage of whatever is available, eating fruit, nuts, fungi, insects, birds, mice, frogs, fish, snakes, and other wildlife—even dead animals. As a result of being so opportunistic, they may pick up and carry around disease organisms such as rabies, roundworm, canine distemper, and salmonella.
To combat the spread of disease, NYPD wildlife biologists have begun using a special rabies vaccine bait that resembles a ketchup packet and is designed to look appealing to raccoons. The bait is scented with fish oil and has a pink liquid vaccine inside, which is eaten by raccoons that come into contact with it. To date, 18 NYC animals—including 7 raccoons from Queens and 2 skunks and bats from Staten Island—have tested positive for rabies in 2022.
Although raccoons are a welcome addition to our urban ecosystem, their presence can pose a health threat to humans and other animals. Since the beginning of the year, nine raccoons have been diagnosed with rabies, and in January, one of those raccoons died in Central Park from the disease. With NYC’s raccoon population growing so rapidly, it is important to continue working on methods of safe and effective population control.
