Lincoln Park Zoo Asks For Help From Chicagoans To Catalog Native Wildlife
(CBS) -- There more to urban life than pigeons and dog, and the Lincoln Park Zoo is enlisting Chicagoans to sort through thousands of pictures to see what's around and how they can coexist with people.
Dr. Seth Maglie, the head of the Urban Wildlife Institute, says a hundred cameras throughout the region have spotted not only raccoons, but mink, foxes and flying squirrels. He says anyone can help the scientists by sorting through all the photos, helping put together behavior patterns.
"They can answer questions like where do coyotes go in different seasons? How do they choose to cross roads? What is it that brings a raccoon to get into someone's garbage? What is it that is going on with our fox population?" said Maglie.
Dr. Maglie says Chicago area will be doubling its green space by 2040 and scientists need data from animal photo ids to determine how the space should be divided so people and animals can live side by side with minimal conflict.
The pictures are available at chicagowildlifewatch.org.