Urban Safari: 10 Surprising Animals That Can Survive City Living

To paraphrase Dr. Ian Malcolm, “I'm simply saying that life finds a way.” Then again, he was a fictional character in a Spielberg movie. Put simply: Things aren’t going so well for earth's animals. As humanity continues to spread we’re destroying our planet’s ability to sustain life—and we’re doing so at an incredible rate. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, humans result in the deaths of between .01 and .1 percent of all living things each year—and many of those are species we haven’t even identified yet. That’s right: We’re so good at killing that we don’t even know who or what we’re killing anymore.

But even as our species takes its toll on biodiversity, there are occasional respites to the bloodshed. In fact, some creatures not only survive when humans post-up in their territory, but thrive. Such animals could even be seen as a glimmer of hope for a future not (entirely) ravaged by humanity’s presence. Then again, most of these species are encroaching on their own lost territory, many are invasive, and some are downright dangerous to humans. But at least they're surviving, right?

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Habitat: Central Park, New York City
Food source: Pigeons, small birds, rats
Danger to humans: None

All things considered, New York is fairly animal-friendly as far as giant concrete metropolises are concerned. Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Central Park in Manhattan are anomalies in the U.S. in terms of urban planning. The positive result of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s genius is that thousands of birds make the park their home when migrating. Preying on these animals, red-tailed hawks have come along for the ride. Living on the tops of buildings and in the Park's many trees, these raptors dine on passing fowl, pigeons, rats, and squirrels. There’s even a legendary white hawk named Pale Male whose impressive list of girlfriends you can read about on Wikipedia.

Habitat: China, Russia, Korea, Central Park
Food source: Whater happens to be around
Danger to humans: Low (but still terrifying)

These terrifying fish are a staple in Asia, but an introduced species in New York City. Brought over as a food, the Northern snakehead fish have been loosed in Central Park's Harlem Meer pond where they threaten to decimate local fish populations. And these guys are hearty little fuckers: They can live in brackish water, breath air through a ventilating organ, and even survive outside of water for several days. As this sign say, if you catch one of these kill it immediately.

Habitat: Every city in the world
Food source: Anything they can find
Danger to humans: Medium

Rats are the ultimate city dwellers. Since they feed off our refuse, their populations increase along with humans. In New York, scientists estimates that there are least as many rats as there are people, though the number is probably much higher—up four times the amount. The days of the Black Death are long gone, but rats can still carry diseases (including, yes, the bubonic plague) and pose a serious health risk to humans.

Habitat: Brazil
Food source: Fruit, insects
Danger to humans: Low

North America isn't the only place where animals have come to find a home in the city. In Brazilian cities near the Amazon Rainforest, marmosets often make homes in parks surrounded by dense cities. The species has even come to adapt its behavior to urban life, choosing to sleep in the same places for safety night after night. Though the jungle remains the preferred habitat for this small subset of monkey, its creativity allows it to forage for food, even when surrounded by its larger primate cousins.

Habitat: Africa
Food source: Meat
Danger to humans: Medium

This is case where territory loss is the prime reason for an animal's urbanization. While leopards are supposed to spend time on the savanna and rainforest, loss of habitat has caused them to enter cities in search of food. This is cause for concern for us people, who the big cats could potentially see as prey. Although attacks on humans are rare, it would be disconcerting to know that leopards are stalking the streets of your city or village at night. Then again, they were here first, so have at us.

Habitat: Sewars, lakes
Food source: Sewar stuff
Danger to humans: Low

Also called the "sludge worm" (so. gross.) these segmented slimers are usually found in lakes and streams, but their ability to survive with almost no oxygen (which they breath through their skin), makes them hearty enough so swim in human waste. They can also lower their metabolic rate when there's no food around, which is a pretty neat trick—sort like when Captain America was frozen in ice except these are terrifying invertebrates instead of a super soldiers.

Habitat: Southern Africa
Food source: Fish, garbage
Danger to humans: Cute nuissance

While this is a case where penguins probably would rather stay in the ocean, South African penguins will venture into cities to find food and even mate. In cities like Cape Town that border the sea, these small birds are a common sight waddling the streets. Still, though they may make the occasional city appearance, penguins are meant for the water. Simmon's Town had to restrict penguin movements, because they caused so much damage rummaging through trash and searching for places to breed. If you find one nesting in a storm drain, please call animal control to help it out.

Habitat: Anywhere people live
Food source: Dog food, people food
Ecological danger: Low

Dogs are the original urban animal, to the point where they wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for people. Over thousands of years, wolves slowly became part of our human community, evolving almost unrecognizably from their leaner, meaner cousins. Fast forward to now, when we've even managed to breed them into such grotesque shapes so that breeds like pugs and French bulldogs can't even mate or give birth themselves. Good for us.

Habitat: East Africa
Food source: Fruits, flowers, seeds, leaves
Danger to humans: Low

Like its South American cousin, the marmoset, vervet monkeys are a primate that occasionally finds a home in the city. Common throughout South Eastern Africa, these small primates live in groups of 15-20 and will occasionally enter houses to find food (or just to make a giant mess). LIke humans, they're also prone to addiction, which can include a chemical dependency on alcohol. Basically, they're just little people.

Habitat: North American, South African, Irish, and English cities
Food source: Tree bark, seeds, nuts, tree buds
Danger to humans: Low

The great misconception about the gray squirrel is that they're native inhabitants of the cities where they live. In fact, if you see a gray squirrel in San Francisco it's actually an ecological invader (albeit a really cute one that doesn't do much damage). That's right: Gray squirrels aren't native to the West Coast, and the same can be said for Cape Town or Dublin. Even New York's gray squirrel population had to be reintroduced after they almost went extinct. Now, however, the species abundantly thrives in small green spaces and parks surrounded by the hustle and bustle of city life.

Habitat: Pretty-much everywhere
Food source: Pretty-much anything
Danger to humans: Medium

The ultimate survivor. Cockroaches have been around for millions of years and will likely be here long after we're gone. With the ability to survive nuclear radiation, high heat, and swats from newspaper, these critters are nigh indestructible. (Plus crushing them is so gross many people would rather just avoid it—yuck.) What you may not know, though, is that cockroaches can also trigger allergic reactions and asthma in humans, as well as spread disease. In fact, there 33 different potentially harmful bacteria spread by cockroaches, and six parasitic worms. It's hard to believe, but cockroaches are even more disgusting than you thought.