Hares, an eagle owl and mute swans - until the second of January, photos of selected patients of the Pomeranian wildlife rehabilitation centre ‘Ostoja’ can be seen in the University of Gdańsk Library. Over the course of 10 years, the institution has already helped more than 16,000 creatures! A large proportion of the centre's patients are animals that have suffered as a result of human activity. It is worth wondering why this boundary between the city and the forest is becoming blurred.

‘We are increasingly seeing wild animals in urban areas: foxes, wild boars, martens and even species new to our country such as the raccoon. In biology, we use such a term as synurbisation, i.e. the adaptation of wild animals to urban conditions,' says Katarzyna Borzym, a doctoral student from the Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology of the Faculty of Biology at UG. ‘Some animals are absorbed by the city as it expands, others flow into cities on purpose. They are attracted by the greater availability of food, the reduced presence of natural predators, and the abundance of winter hiding places, among other things.’

In 2023, teriologists from the Department of Biology prepared a poster on the life of mammals at the Oliwa Campus of the University of Gdańsk. On the basis of their research, they found activity of the red fox, stone marten, Eurasian wild boar, European mole, and four species of bats: rearmouse, Nathusius' pipistrelle, common pipistrelle, and noctule bat.

‘The city is, as a rule, a place free of apex predators,’ explains Katarzyna Borzym. ‘Of course, it is possible to encounter predators in the city, such as outgoing or stray cats. However, encountering a wolf in the city centre is already much less likely. Increasingly in the city, we can also meet so-called mesopredators, i.e. lower-order predators such as foxes or the aforementioned raccoons, which are happy to use the food thrown out by humans, while avoiding the pressure of higher-order predators such as the wolf.’

Changes in urban animals are also observed at the level of morphological adaptations. We know from studies by ornithologists that birds living in cities, compared to their non-urban relatives, have longer tails and wings and larger heart muscles, due to more frequent short-distance flights, often vertical, which consume more energy. ‘A paper recently came out showing changes in the dentition in foxes, indicating that they have become more adapted to eating leftovers,’ says Katarzyna Borzym.

The city is not only a safer haven with easy access to food, but also a place full of dangers for animals. In built-up areas, they have to contend with traffic, pollution and constant light or noise, among other things, which can make communication difficult for them.

‘It is also possible to observe changes in ethology, i.e. the behaviour of animals that are becoming less skittish towards humans. This may manifest in ‘asking’ for food or settling more boldly near humans. Some of the animals that were more active in the forest during the day, in the city change their behaviour and function at night in order, among other things, to reduce contact with humans,’ says Katarzyna Borzym. ‘In general, animal populations that live in cities are more long-lived because they are subject to less selection pressure than outside the city, but they have less vitality. This means that although adults may live longer, they are more susceptible to disease and injury, and young animals are more likely not to survive due to harsh urban conditions such as lack of suitable places to grow, pollution or threats from human activities.’

The Centre's ‘Ostoja’ exhibition will be on display in the lobby of the University of Gdańsk Library until the second of January. The author of the photographs is Maja Stawiska. ‘We are located in the Kashubian region and care deeply about the native fauna and flora. Our employees have been sacrificing themselves for the welfare of wild animals for years,’ write the exhibition's creators.