![]() St. Louis Wildlife Project Many urban-adapted mammals live throughout St. Louis, including here at Gateway Arch National Park. Animals who do well in urban environments are sometimes referred to as synanthropes, or urban exploiters. Synanthropes are often found at greater densities in cities than in more "natural" locations. If you live in a city or town, chances are good that you've seen pigeons, Canada geese, feral cats, raccoons, white tailed deer, and rats sharing your neighborhood. All of these animals are synanthropes, and all have rising populations. In fact, there are now over 100x more deer in the USA than there were in 1900! St. Louis Wildlife Project
The St. Louis Wildlife Project can't estimate the population size of the photographed species. We can't know whether there are 3 woodchucks, or the same woodchuck captured on camera three times. However, we know there are at least two coyotes because they were seen on camera together (see photo below). If you’re interested in volunteering for the St Louis Wildlife Project, you can contact them through their website. St Louis Wildlife Project NPS Photo Acoustic Bat MonitoringThe St. Louis Wildlife Project biologists also received a special use permit to set up acoustic monitors to identify bats that were calling within Gateway Arch National Park's boundaries. In the summer of 2021 and spring of 2022 they detected calls from: Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus Red Bat,, Lasiurus borealis Tricolored Bat, Perimyotic subflavus Evening Bat, Nycticeius humeralis Hoary Bat, Lasiurus cinereus Silver Haired Bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans |
Last updated: July 5, 2022