The same socioeconomic pressures that shape human communities can trickle down to urban wildlife, outweighing natural influences. Although human presence is correlated with lower survivorship in other species, coyote (Canis…
—
January 22, 2025
by
The Wildlife Society
Thesamesocioeconomicpressuresthatshapehumancommunitiescantrickledowntourbanwildlife,outweighingnaturalinfluences.Althoughhumanpresenceiscorrelatedwithlowersurvivorshipinotherspecies,coyote(Canislatrans)lifespanswerelongerinareaswithgreaterhumanpopulation.Additionally,coyotesinlower-incomeneighborhoodswere1.5timesmorelikelytoreachtwoyearsofagethancoyotesinhigh-incomeneighborhoods.ResearchersspeculatethatmoredenselypopulatedareasprovideampleresourceslikefoodandsheltertoChicago’scoyotes,bothofwhicharecrucialfortheanimalstoweatherthecity’sharshwinters.Higher-incomeneighborhoods,whereurbanparksandgolfcoursesarecommonfeatures,mayhaveagreaterdensityofcoyotes—butalsogreatercompetition,loweringoverallsurvivorship.“Itcouldspeaktohowadaptabletheyare
