Living with wildlife

Photo by Tom Mumbray

The ‘living with wildlife’ webpages provide insights into how to coexist in balance with some of our more common species of wildlife and, if problems arise, what practical solutions are available to restore this balance.

The new wild

For the first time in human history there are more people living in cities and towns than outside them. As our cities grow some animals are pushed out while others take advantage of the modified environment, with some even increasing in numbers as they move into newly created habitat. To these animals the city and surrounding suburbs are seen as the ‘new wild’: a place with all the habitat elements they need to feed, breed and take shelter.

As the urban environment expands, this ‘new wild’ will also become a new frontier for confronting a range of wildlife conservation and management issues. Even some threatened species are at home in the suburbs (you can find out if threatened species live in your neighbourhood by requesting a species list online).