A catchall thread for stories of urban wildlife...



I've been seeing a lot of foxes around Tower Grove Park lately, or maybe it's just the same one and he really gets around. It amazes me that a fox could even find/get to Tower Grove Park, let alone live in it, but maybe he lives in MoBot Garden and just commutes to the park for the garbage. I guess a fox could really live like a king around here with thousands of carefree bunnies running around.



I've seen quite a few opossums and raccoons, an eagle, an owl, and a few coyotes within the city limits, and of course, lots of bats. I swear I saw a beaver lodge in Forest Park this spring as well. I have yet to see a deer, turkey, woodchuck, or skunk in the city, but I know people that have, and they weren't near a river either.



It's kind of amazing that these critters are coming into the city now, after all this time. I don't remember ever seeing anything but rats, squirrels, and pigeons in the city when I was a kid, but I suppose we'll be seeing a lot more, especially as more and more greenways are completed.

I got a rude awakening by a bat in my bedroom at 3:30am this morning. Smae thing happened two years ago. I'd really like to know how they get in. I guess they can realy squeeze through tight spaces.

quincunx wrote:I got a rude awakening by a bat in my bedroom at 3:30am this morning. Smae thing happened two years ago. I'd really like to know how they get in. I guess they can realy squeeze through tight spaces.

Whoa! I don't think I want that rude awakening. Get bit by a bat and you can be in for some trouble.

JuiceInDogtown wrote:


Whoa! I don't think I want that rude awakening. Get bit by a bat and you can be in for some trouble.

He would just fly circles around my room. I couldn't get him to go anywhere so I took him out with a dust pan. I don't think he bit me while I was sleeping. Then again I did find the sunlight today really annoying, and the glass of tomato juice I drank just wasn't that satisfying . . .

I live in a hicktown of 400 out in the middle of nowhere and I'm not sure I've ever seen a fox near my house.



Though a while back Dad shot a possum with an arrow.



Though I did have a rat snake next to my headboard and my Dad saw a tarantula by the shed a few weeks ago.



Such is life in rural Missouri.

aside from stray dogs, roaches, and pigeons, the only other critters i've seen downtown are rabbits oddly enough. although i did see an anteater downtown on saturday a few blocks away from my loft... anyone ever notice the large 6 story building just west of locust and jefferson on the north side of locust? the guy who owned it had an estate sale over the weekend. i honestly have not seen so much junk collected in my whole life. a stuffed anteater, thermometers without the mercury, old shoes.. etc. it was just an incredible amount of ju.. err stuff.

Alley cats, lots of alley cats, and they often like to fight in my back yard.

what4 wrote: anyone ever notice the large 6 story building just west of locust and jefferson on the north side of locust? the guy who owned it had an estate sale over the weekend.

Just an FYI: Even though they advertise it as an "estate sale", it's really just an antique dealer downsizing. They've had the same sale most weekends for the last couple of months. Lots of really cool stuff, though.



BTW, I had a huge Hawk in my backyard in St. Louis Hills just over a year ago. He was just sitting in the tree, no more than 15 feet from my kitchen window. I got to watch him for about 15 minutes as I was eating my breakfast.

My friend has a house that backs up to Wilmore Park, which is near River Des Peres. She has seen foxes, Coyotes, Deer, Turkey, Beavers, skunks and allegedly a bobcat. (likely a domesticated cat). She says that the animals come up there by following the river.



I have seen beavers along River Des Peres as recently as Saturday. I also saw a giant one in Hanley Industrial Ct.



This is all the product of urban sprawl, in my opinion.

you mean Winslow? The giant, all-knowing, mystic beaver of the Hanley Industrial Ct? Yeah, he's pretty cool.

I saw a sasquatch in my alley a couple weaks ago. He was going through the dumpster. I scared him off with my airsoft pellet gun.

migueltejada wrote:

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

jlblues wrote:I've been seeing a lot of foxes around Tower Grove Park lately...

I saw a lot of foxes in Clayton today when I went to the art fair.

I think you're confusing foxes with cougars. Foxes are located at Cardinals games and within the SLU student body.

In fairness, there is always a rather large population of cougars around Cardinals games as well, and I've seen several eyeing the er, um, SLU student body. It's quite simple really, where there are foxes, you are also most likely to find the cougar's prey of choice.

DOGTOWNB&R wrote:This is all the product of urban sprawl, in my opinion.

Why would you think that? I think it is more likely a product of a general resurgence of such critters, and their adaptation and habituation to the urban environment. If people can develop a newfound appreciation of city living, why can't wildlife?

Magnatron wrote:I saw a sasquatch in my alley a couple weaks ago. He was going through the dumpster. I scared him off with my airsoft pellet gun.

Can we please not turn this into another homeless debate?

I was surprised to find an opossum walking around my porch one night. The city is probably a tempting environment for a lot of animals. Nobody hunts them(at least not legally), there are lots of food scraps, they can find shelter in vacant buildings, and there are plenty of open, grassy spaces on empty lots.

migueltejada wrote:

Framer wrote:
BTW, I had a huge Hawk in my backyard in St. Louis Hills just over a year ago. He was just sitting in the tree, no more than 15 feet from my kitchen window. I got to watch him for about 15 minutes as I was eating my breakfast.

I'm impressed - you can tell the sex of a hawk from 15 feet away!

In the old days, most people could tell you the sex of Lenny Wilkens from at least that distance.

^Are you saying that people would need to get much closer now?

I'd argue that with all the old growth trees the city is closer to a natural habitat for many of these creatures than the suburbs are.

Magnatron wrote:I saw a sasquatch in my alley a couple weaks ago. He was going through the dumpster. I scared him off with my airsoft pellet gun.

Hey sorry about that. I was eyeballing an old TV in that dumpster that I just had to have!

I have seen four or five different hawks in Princeton Heights in the past three years, one even sitting in my backyard birdbath. One was eating a pigeon and feathers were raining down on my garden. Also, I have rare Eurasian tree sparrows living in birdhouses in my backyard. Every year I see 2 or 3 babies pop their heads out. Saw some beavers in River Des Peres also.