The Wild Within the Walls
June 27, 2025 at 12:16AMThirty-five percent of Rome is green space, and people may not realize that it teems with urban wildlife. For bioGraphic, Krista Langlois explores the wilder side of the ancient city: all the historical sites that now serve as natural oases, the “green corridors” that allow animals to get in and out its center, and the freshwater crabs that once thrived in its swampy underground and subterranean waterways. Langlois also writes about the volunteer efforts around the city to rescue injured wildlife—like birds, bats, and even wolves—and to educate the public on how to live alongside these animals. The piece includes stunning wildlife photography, courtesy of Homo Ambiens.
In modern Rome, boars knock over trash bins, wolves roam the urban fringes, raptors nest atop marble pillars, and ducks tend to their eggs inside world-renowned art museums. The city is home to 1,600 species of plants; 5,200 insects; and around 100 birds, 40 mammals, and 30 reptile and amphibian species. All are wild, though not all are native. Ring-necked parakeets from Africa and South Asia, escaped from the pet trade, nest throughout the city—a modern echo of ancient Rome’s role in the endless human enterprise of shuffling around species.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/06/26/rome-urban-wildlife/
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