纽约 (CNN) 纽约市的野生动物正在蓬勃发展，这要归功于敬业的科学家和活动家，他们花了数十年时间在该市五个行政区建立了健全的野生动物栖息地。
自然区域保护协会的高级生态学家 Helen Forgione 是其中一位科学家。 30 多年来，她一直致力于恢复纽约市的公园和未受破坏的自然绿地。
“在某些情况下，我们并没有真正看到动物回到纽约，但我们看到了让它们更显眼的合适栖息地，”她说。 “我们还看到动物四处走动并寻找合适的栖息地......他们正在寻找合适的空间供它们繁殖和生活。”
纽约是该国人口最稠密的大都市区之一，但它也是 30,000 英亩公园的所在地——占城市的 14%——充满了野生动物，从臭鼬和鹿、海豚到史坦顿岛附近的海豹应有尽有，甚至生活在中央公园林区的土狼。
纽约市奥杜邦协会的分会追踪了五个行政区不同地区的鸟类和物种数量，以进行年度圣诞鸟类计数。 2015 年，他们在中央公园记录了 55 个不同物种的 4,264 只鸟。五年后的 2020 年，中央公园的数量增加了近 50%，达到 59 个不同物种的 6,357 只鸟。
“今天让我兴奋的不仅是大苹果中野生动物的多样性和丰富性的增加，还有公众对城市野生邻居的反应和热情，”纽约市公园和娱乐部野生动物主管莎拉·奥金 (Sarah Aucoin)和教育在一封电子邮件中说。
野生动物的激增是广泛的环境宣传和旨在保护自然栖息地的联邦立法的副产品。
1970 年环境保护署的成立以及《清洁空气法》和《清洁水法》等联邦立法在清理纽约等城市和控制污染方面取得了巨大进步。这与清理纽约绿地的绿色倡议相结合，如布鲁克林海洋公园、530 英亩的草原和盐沼。
Forgione 记得在它甚至被认为是公园之前就在这个地区工作。今天，这里到处都是观鸟者、家庭和退休人员。
“很高兴看到这个空间因其本身而受到赞赏，而不被视为荒地或可以被滥用的地方。”
纽约市的公园部门很高兴看到纽约人分享对野生动物的兴奋。
“过去我们必须向公众保证野生动物属于这座城市并可以在这里繁衍生息，现在我们花更多时间回答有关在整个城市观赏野生动物的最佳地点的问题。公众对城市野生动物的看法和态度的这种变化是与野生动物的整体增加一样，这也证明了纽约市公园为野生动物所做的工作。它们齐头并进，“莎拉·奥金继续说道。 “野生动物不仅需要公园——绿地、栖息地、生态系统——才能生存，它们还需要我们所有人都成为好邻居。”
虽然纽约的重新绿化是有意的，但现在看到的一些物种却出乎意料。科学家和学者正试图准确地追踪生活在城市绿地中的生物。
迈尔斯·戴维斯 (Myles Davis) 是哥伦比亚大学的研究生，研究纽约市的中型食肉动物分布 - 或需要肉类、检查物和其他植物材料组合的中型动物。
“很多纽约人甚至不知道周围有什么，”戴维斯说。 “我在布鲁克林长大，直到几年前我才知道周围真的有浣熊。”
他专注于布鲁克林、皇后区和长岛的地区，使用野生动物摄像机来监控展望公园等地方的动物活动，而不会打扰它们。
“了解这里的趋势确实可以让我们知道随着更多城市的城市化，对未来的期望，”他说。 “我们可以将纽约视为这方面的典范。”
纽约比几个世纪以来更清洁、更环保，但 Forgione 认为这项工作远未结束。这将需要科学家和纽约人持续的热情和保护才能保持这一势头。在纽约这样的城市，公园是野生动物和居民的重要出路。
“这是人们最接近大自然的地方。它真的强调了管理这些地方、我们的森林和湿地的良好状态是多么重要，对于这些没有其他地方可以体验大自然的人来说他们自己的后院。”
CNN 的 Kennedey Bell 为本报告做出了贡献。
New Yorkers and wildlife are finding solace in the city's parks
New York (CNN)New York City's wildlife is thriving, and that's thanks to devoted scientists and activists who have spent decades bolstering robust wildlife habitats in the city's five boroughs.
Helen Forgione, Natural Areas Conservancy's senior ecologist, is one of those scientists. For more than 30 years, she's dedicated her career to restoring New York City's parks and natural, untouched green spaces.
"In some cases, we're not really seeing animals coming back to New York, but we're seeing the right habitat for them to be more visible," she said. "We're also seeing animals moving around and looking for the right habitat ... They're finding the right kind of space for them to breed and live."
New York is one of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the country, but it's also the home to 30,000 acres of parkland -- 14% of the city -- teeming with wildlife, everything from skunks and deer, dolphins and seals off Staten Island, even Coyotes living in the wooded areas of Central Park.
New York City's branch of the Audubon Society tracks the number of birds and species seen in different areas of the five boroughs for their annual Christmas Bird Count. In 2015, they logged 4,264 birds of 55 different species in Central Park. Five years later in 2020, Central Park's numbers increased by nearly 50% to 6,357 birds of 59 different species.
"What thrills me today is not only the increase in the diversity and abundance of wildlife in the big apple, but the public's reaction to and enthusiasm for their urban wild neighbors," Sarah Aucoin, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's chief of wildlife and education said in an email.
The upsurge in wildlife is a byproduct of extensive environmental advocacy and federal legislation aimed at protecting natural habitats.
The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 along with federal legislation, like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, made huge strides for cleaning up cities like New York and controlling pollution. This paired with green initiatives to clean up New York's green spaces like Brooklyn's Marine Park, 530 acres of grassland and salt marsh.
Forgione remembers working in this area before it was even considered a park. Today, it's teeming with bird-watchers, families, and retirees.
"It's really nice to see this space appreciated for what it is and not considered a wasteland or a place that can be abused."
And the city's parks department is happy to see New Yorkers share the excitement over the wildlife.
"Where we used to have to reassure the public that wildlife belonged in the City and could thrive here, we now spend more time answering questions about the best places to view wildlife throughout the City. This change in public perception and attitudes about urban wildlife is as much a testament to the work NYC Parks has done on behalf of wildlife as the overall increase in wildlife is. And they go hand in hand," Sarah Aucoin continued. "Wildlife not only needs parks -- the green space, the habitat, the ecosystem -- to survive, they need all of us to be good neighbors."
While the re-greening of New York was intentional, some of the species now seen were unexpected. Scientists and scholars are trying to keep track of exactly what's living in the city's green spaces.
Myles Davis is a graduate student at Columbia University studying New York City's mesocarnivore distributions -- or mid-sized animals that need a combination of meat, inspects, and other plant material.
"A lot of New Yorkers don't even know what's around," Davis said. "I grew up in Brooklyn and I didn't know there were raccoons around really until a few years ago."
He's focusing on areas of Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, using wildlife cameras to monitor animal activity in places like Prospect Park without disturbing them.
"Understanding the trends here can really let us know what to expect for the future as more cities become urbanized," he said. "We can look at New York as a model for that."
New York is cleaner and greener than it has been in centuries, but Forgione believes the work is far from over. It's going to take the continued enthusiasm and conservation of scientists and New Yorkers together to keep up the momentum. And in a city like New York, parks are an essential outlet for wildlife and residents alike.
"This is the place where people have most of their access to nature. It really stresses how important it is to keep these places managed, our forests and our wetlands in good condition, for these people who have no other place to experience nature but in their own backyard."
CNN's Kennedey Bell contributed to this report.
