At least twenty raccoons can be found on any given night near this location in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California (USA). Raccoons found in this high of a concentration is not common in wilderness, but the large amounts of unsecured garbage in most cities across North America have supported populations of raccoons larger than the normal carrying capacity. These raccoons perked up as a car was driving towards them on a nearby road.
Cities Gone Wild
Cities Gone Wild is an exploration of three savvy animals: black bears, coyotes and raccoons. Each of these urban carnivores are uniquely equipped to survive and even thrive in the human built landscape at a time when urbanization is decimating habitat for less adapted wildlife. I tracked these three carnivores in cities across the United States, to reveal how they are using our infrastructure and resources to carve out a unique place in society that might help them survive an uncertain future. Published in the July, 2022 issue of National Geographic Magazine
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