Coyotes, Peacocks, Parrots, and Rats: Resilience and Biodiversity in Los Angeles Urban Animals

• In Event: Assembling Resilience - II

Abstract

Los Angeles is home to a vibrant non-human population ranging from the ubiquitous (rats and mice) to the charismatic (mountain lions and bobcats). And according to mayor Eric Garcetti, "resilience is a value that guides everything we do in Los Angeles." Recently, scientists and city officials have worked together to establish a biodiversity atlas and index to guide city policy towards preserving and enhancing biodiversity across all kingdoms. However, the dynamics of existing urban infrastructure create powerful forces that sustain some highly "resilient" species, and not others. As scientists race to establish a baseline for biodiversity in the city, they also observe the de facto domestication of commensal free-living species (both native and introduced) like coyotes, raccoons, parrots, peacocks, and rats, and the ecologies they thrive in: lawns, floodways, backyard clutter, and general food abundance. The success of these creatures depends both on past urban goals (LA's famous concrete rivers) and present disordered systems of management (from coyote "cullng" programs to human's pet-keeping practices to the economy of pest control companies). The species that are arguably the most "resilient" are also often the least desired, both aesthetically and from a biodiversity standpoint. This paper reports on fieldwork with a range of actors involved in managing wildlife in the city (city officials, urban ecologists, agricultural and vector control districts, pest control professionals, and animal welfare activists), and argues that the language of resilience is in conflict with many long-standing practices and emerging goals for biodiversity and sustainability.

Author

• Christopher Kelty, UCLA