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Bringing Lincoln Park Zoo To You Goal Of Urban Wildlife Institute Expansion

By Ted Cox | March 23, 2017 1:34pm | Updated on March 24, 2017 10:11am
 Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute studies wild animals in the city.
Urban Wildlife Institute
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LINCOLN PARK — Lincoln Park Zoo is expanding its popular Urban Wildlife Institute as a way to re-engage city residents and, in effect, bring the zoo to them.

The zoo introduced a wide array of initiatives Thursday, led by adding trap cameras taking snapshots of urban animals in seven other cities to what will now be known as the Urban Wildlife Information Network.

With its local emphasis on coyotes, skunks, birds and other animals increasingly encroaching on city residents, the Urban Wildlife Institute has proved to be one of the zoo's most popular new programs over the last decade. It already boasts of being the largest study of urban animals in the world, gathering 100,000 animal snapshots a year.

 Lincoln Park Zoo's new logo has block letters and a sans-serif typeface.
Lincoln Park Zoo's new logo has block letters and a sans-serif typeface.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

The zoo seized on that Thursday in one of its periodic self-reassessments, trumpeting the way natural urban wildlife seems to arouse interest in city residents, at the same time it unveiled a new logo. Zoo President Kevin Bell also emphasized the zoo would remain free to visitors as it closes in on its 150th anniversary next year, and beyond.

The Urban Wildlife Information Network appeared to be the spearhead of the new approach, however. Bell said it "epitomizes what Lincoln Park Zoo is all about," adding, "We are about engaging and inspiring communities."

Describing a renewed interest in urban wildlife as "an area where we could make a significant impact," Bell said it was about "reaching out to communities and talking about the wildlife they have right in their own backyard."

Bell said, "We want to create better environments for the people, and we want to create better environments for the animals."

It's one thing for zoo visitors to trek in to see lions and polar bears, but Bell said he'd seen heightened interest in urban wildlife coming to areas like Little Village, where previously the only animals residents thought were in the area were rats and pigeons.

"The zoo grounds are still primarily species you don't see in the Chicago area," Bell said. But in Little Village he'd experienced people getting excited about a bat detector being installed on a roof, which led him in turn to point out during a talk in the neighborhood that the chimney swifts circling above were a reason mosquitoes aren't as much of a problem in the city.

"That's a great awakening," he added, and the zoo was seeking to tap into that enthusiasm, especially with teens and other school-age children.

Seth Magle, head of the Urban Wildlife Institute and executive director of its new expanded network, said it was intended to "help humans and wildlife coexist in cities around the world." The network will be looking for how urban wildlife differs, in both species found and in their behavior, from city to city.

Cities with universities or other wildlife organizations that will be lending their trap photos and other data to the network include Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Madison, Wis., Manhattan, Kan., Austin, Texas, and Fort Collins, Colo., with international cities expected to join in the coming months.

Magle emphasized the information being gathered is meant to be applied, not just studied. He cited how the institute had consulted on the city's adoption of a new hands-off policy toward coyotes last year. He said the new information would lead to "a blueprint to create truly wildlife-friendly cities."

Liza Lehrer, assistant director of the institute, called it "powerful" that it would now be able to compare animal species and behavior in Chicago with other cities. Magle had cited how coyotes "seem to be sharply on the rise," while foxes were dwindling.

"What research has shown in other areas is that coyotes are sort of excluding red foxes from the more desirable habitats," Lehrer said. "So they just get pushed out. The coyotes are just sort of dominating red foxes."

Is that a good thing or bad thing, and can it be reversed? That's the sort of question they'll be trying to answer as they amass information here and in other cities.

Lehrer said the data being collected are meant to be shared with anyone with an interest in the field, and pointed to the chicagowildlifewatch.org website to get and keep people involved.

Magle stressed that point, saying, "We are absolutely committed to connecting our research to the public."