URBAN jungle
Two yellow orbs shine back at you in the darkness, as something catches the beam from your headlights in its eyes. Moments later, they’re gone. Should you find yourself driving along the back streets of Mumbai after dark, you might just have glimpsed a leopard. Against the odds, the world’s most cosmopolitan big cat has gained a pawhold in the megacity, home to more than 20 million people.
By day, the leopards mostly hide up in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the green heart of the city, where researchers counted 47 adult cats and eight cubs in 2018. At night, they prowl the neighbouring alleys and backyards, picking off stray dogs, and feral pigs and goats.
Should we be surprised? The labels ‘city’ and ‘countryside’ mean nothing to Mumbai’s leopards, or to Aspen’s black bears, Stockholm’s beavers and Beijing’s weasels. Wild animals just want a safe place to live, where they can find food and shelter, and perhaps raise a family.
In the urban jungle, you’re rarely far from exciting wildlife. Here, we search the back streets and scour the sewers to introduce you to some of our wilder metropolitan neighbours.
You’re welcome, deer
SIKA DEER, NARA
If wildlife is to thrive in our cities, it often all comes down to cultural norms – what we deem acceptable – rather than just being a question of whether there’s enough food, water or shelter. Take the sika deer that roam Japanese streets. Deer are not small animals by any stretch, yet in the temple city of Nara and on the touristy island of Miyajima, it’s
