Conservationists Suggest Moving Endangered Species Into Cities

Animal advocates have been testing all sorts of strategies to help endangered species. They’ve released zoo-bred babies into the wild, mapped trees, and even brewed beer. But now, scientists at UCLA have proposed a truly unconventional solution: introducing vulnerable creatures into our cities.It’s already happened in Pasadena, where a sizeable population of feral red-crowned parrots have roosted since the 1980s. CityLab estimates roughly 2,000 to 3,000 of these birds reside in the Los Angeles area, and the parrot has a similarly strong presence in pockets of Florida and Texas. Conservationists now believe there are more red-crowned parrots in the United States than in Mexico, the birds’ native home, where the species is considered endangered.These parrots have led some scientists to argue for “sanctuary cities,” or urban hubs for animals who face extinction. The advocates most recently made their case in Smithsonian Magazine, where they proposed introducing select non-native species to artificial habitats in cities. The argument is illustrated neatly through the red-crowned parrots, which arrived in Pasadena by accident. There was no concerted conservation effort, no coordination between zoos to get them there. Most experts believe they escaped a pet shop or came to the Los Angeles area through questionably legal pet trade. But in either case, they managed to build a large feral colony once they arrived.So if creatures like the parrots are going to come to cities anyway, UCLA biologist Brad Shaffer reasons, why shouldn’t we plan for it?"There are a lot of parrots out there in the world, and some parrot is going to show up,” Shaffer told Smithsonian Magazine. “So, wouldn't we rather have a larger fraction of those non-natives be [a species that is] seriously endangered in its home turf? Then at least we're accomplishing something." Ursula Heise, Shaffer’s UCLA colleague who also produced a docu-short on the birds, concurs. She envisions an entire “urban ark” — a multispecies sanctuary in Los Angeles for threatened animals...MORE