Planet Earth II

Langurs thrive in cities like Jodhpur in India. Amongst the Hindu population, these monkeys are revered for their association to the Hindu God, Lord Hanuman, often provided with an abundance of food. This special relationship has bolstered the langur population, with a much higher birth rate, including that of twins. Such rich feeding grounds does still foster competition. The alpha male of each troop still has to work to defend his territory against raiding bands of bachelor males.

Peregrine falcons have adapted very quickly to life in cities, such as New York, taking advantage of the numerous ledges for nesting, as well as the high perches atop skyscrapers to catch the wind. These falcons dive to flush their prey out into the open, sometimes reaching speeds of over 500 kilometres per hour.

Mumbai, India, has the highest concentration of leopards in the world. They often take advantage of the noise of the bustling city to hunt livestock, such as pigs. Mumbai's human residents are justifiably wary of the presence of such bold big cats - in the last 25 years, almost 200 people have attacked by leopards.

Livestock, such as pigs, raised by humans in Mumbai and corralled in pens are an easy target for leopards that prowl the city at night. The piglets are especially vulnerable to these being taken by the big cats. Under the cover of darkness, the pigs are barely aware of the approaching leopard until it's too late.

European starlings take advantage of the extra warmth that permeates the air in cities during winter months. In Rome, large flocks of these birds perform synchronised murmurations in the sky - beautiful to observe, but the ten tonnes of droppings the birds leave each day is a less appealing consequence.

A male great bowerbird is known for its bower-building skill; in particular, it spends over a decade collecting colourful and shiny objects which it carefully arranges (and re-arranges) to create an impressive display for visiting females. In an attempt to seal the deal with one visitor, the male expands a pink crest of feathers on the back of his head but in vain - the visitor is not a female but younger male, yet to develop his adult plumage, who sneaks off with a stuffed scarlet heart from the display.

In Toronto, raccoons have traded their usual treetop homes for the urban jungle, where the opportunities for scavenging food are plentiful. One mother raccoon has been nursing her kits inside a chimney stack. Now that they are old enough to explore the outside world, she leads them down to the backyard where they eagerly investigate the garden furnite and tools, scaling fences and walls under her guidance. Studies have shown that urban raccoons are better at problem-solving than their woodland-dwelling kin, no doubt because of how much more resourceful and intelligent they have to be to navigate this novel environment.

Rhesus macaques have taken up residence in Jaipur. India. They crowd the rooftops of residential buildings and use the many ledges and walls available to them to traverse the city to get to the markets. Here, they steal food - fruits, crisp packets, bottles of juice - from beleagured shopkeepers and unattentive pedestrians alike.

Rival spotted hyena clans, each 60 members strong, clash in the dead of night on the outskirts of the city of Harar in Ethiopia. After several hours, the winners earn the right to enter the city. These animals, rather than being feared as they are across the rest of their range in sub-Saharan Africa, are instead welcomed by the residents of Harar with whom they have a special, sometimes spiritual, relationship. The hyenas head to the city's old meat market where butchers leave out leftover bones for the animals, a tradition that has played out for 4 centuries. One resident, Yousuf, even whistles to call the hyenas to his home, where he feeds them pieces of meat by hand.

In the city of Albi, France, pigeons gather at the bank of a river to drink and bathe. As they do so, oils from their feathers seeps downriver attracting predatory wels catfish, which lunge out of the water to grab the birds and drag them underwater.

Wels catfish were introduced to rivers in southern France 40 years ago. In the city of Albi, these normally bottom-dwelling fish have adapted a new hunting strategy. When they detect oils from the feathers of bathing pigeons in the water, they head for the riverbanks. The catfish lie in ambush the shallows and lunge at unsuspecting pigeons.

When hawksbill turtle hatchlings emerge from under the sand, they have a strong instinct to follow a bright light, usually the light of the full moon, to guide them to the safety of the sea. But this is a beach on a coastal city in Barbados, where electric lights, distrupt the hatchlings' sense of direction. Disoriented, the hatchlings become easier targets for predators such as ghost crabs at prowl the beach. Some hatchlings even follow the city lights inland and, tragically, become trapped in storm drains or killed by passing traffic.

Ghost crabs lie in wait as hawksbill turtle hatchlings emerge from under the sand on a beach in Barbados yearning to reach the sea. The lights of the city disorients the young turtles, giving the predators ample opportunity to grab them.

Footnotes ▾

The renaturalisation of Singapore's canals and waterways has led to a return of smooth-coated otters to the city. This practice, alongside the extensive regreening the city has undertaken, with over 2 million trees planted in the past 45 years, has set the standard for how cities in the future may be more accommodating to wildlife.