1. And drink pure water from the pump,

2. I gulp down infusoria

3. And quarts of raw bacteria,

4. And hideous rotatorae,

5. And wriggling polygastricae,

6. And slimy diatomacae,

7. And various animalculae

8. Of middle, high and low degree.

9. William Juniper, The True Drunkard’s Delight, 1933

Some years ago I tried to call the “National Center for Urban Wildlife” in Washington, D.C. and after futile attempts to find the number, the telephone operator said politely, “Sir, are you really serious?” While cities may be hot spots of human wild life, I was thinking of urban wildlife, the non-domesticated terrestrial animals in urban areas (Goode, 1986; Houck and Cody, 2000; USDA Forest Service, 2001; Adams et al., 2006). Wildlife refers to all vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians) and invertebrates (insects and other groups), except for pets, farm animals, fish, and diverse aquatic animals.

The urban environment, characterized by a concentration of buildings, roads, pollutants, noise, vehicles, and people, differs markedly from natural and agricultural lands. Not surprisingly, urban animals are equally distinctive (Stearns, 1967; Robinson, 1996). In general, urban vertebrates: (1) commonly use human-provided food sources; (2) readily switch diets; (3) may den or nest in artificial structures; (4) have relatively long breeding periods; (5) may occur in rather high density; (6) frequently move from location to location; (7) are habituated (accustomed to or behaviorally adjusted to humans); and (8) are generalists (Wheater, 1999; Adams et al., 2006).