Here in southwestern Connecticut, things are pretty urban. Still . . .
Over the past couple of years, we've seen otters and beavers returning. Red squirrels have been moving in, annoying the grays that've been here since I can remember. Mockingbirds and black vultures have extended their ranges from the south, while ravens have moved down from the more remote north. Ospreys, falcons, and eagles have become more common, while red-tailed hawks are now an almost everyday creature. White-tailed deer had been at almost pestilential levels, but their populations seem to have dropped off. During harsher winters, I've seen more than a few coyotes.
Last summer our local waters, Long Island Sound, played host to common and bottlenosed dolphins, a trio of beluga whales, a minke whale and three young humpback whales. (Sadly, one appears to have been killed in a boating collision . . . )
Earlier this spring, someone captured video of a big black bear in the northern part of my city, and there was a report from a bordering town, of a cat in a suburban back yard. Pretty big one. Three feet at the shoulder, with a long tail. If it was a mountain lion, it wouldn't be the first - one wandered over here a few years ago from North Dakota, only to meet its end (and the grille of an SUV) on a local highway.
Urban environments and big, iconic animals are an uneasy mix . . .
(No tapirs though ... _that_ would be cool!)
~Bruce
