Faunapolis's Mission Statement: To admire those species struggling to survive in a world turned human. To document animal species living among us and their interactions with humankind by means of geographical information, images and interesting stories.

Faunapolis is a place where you can share interesting photos and stories about animals that live in this new kind of jungle we call town, city, or even backyard. If you have a photo of an animal and need to find its species, this is the place to post that picture and get help. These creatures are learning to live with us, and new symbiotic relations between them and us are creating an entirely different ecosystem. Will we ever be able to coexist?

Tags:
Opposum faking his death
Species
Virginia Opossum? (Mexican Tlacuache)
Opossum
Zarigüeyas (Zarigueyas)

Location
18°52´12´´ N 99°12´27´´ O Mexico Morelos.

Date of sighting
2 Dec 2006

This photo was taken outside my home in Mexico, I lived in Cuernavaca Morelos, and specifically the place where I lived in, its inside a non urbanistic location, this kind of mammals I believe are marsupials(probably I'm wrong), and they are omnivores and they can kill larger preys like goose(they killed and ate ours), In Mexico we called these creatures Tlacuaches or Zarigüeyas, probably from nahuatl derivations as you can see in this photos there is a competition against my cats cause the Tlacuaches also likes cat food.
At night they make the most annoying and bizarre of noises (kind of piggy scream mixed with something creppy), and they have a great tail wich they use to climb up the trees, and their offspring can wrap to their mom's back with it.
We in our home didnt make anything to harm them, but our neighbors are always poisoning them because they sometimes attack their chicken and stuff, obviously the neighbours are also poisoning their cats, our cats, their dogs, etc. However There are many of them still alive (I hope), but not in my backyard anymore...

rainbow trout paramo merida
Species
Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow Trout)

Location
Paramos of Merida, Venezuelan Andes

Date of sighting
1 Jan 2007

This is a Oncorhynchus mykiss rainbow trout from the mountains of Merida, Venezuela.

Tags:
Baboon (Papio Ursinus) troops in Pringle Place, South Africa
Species
Papio Ursinus (Chacma Baboon)

Location
Pringle Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

Date of sighting
16 Jun 2007

A common site here in Pringle Bay!!

The Baboon troops try to break into the houses to scavenge food. They are protected here because there are only around two troops in the area.

 

closeup of frog in mailbox
Species
tree frog - species unknown
Hyla avivoca? (Bird-voiced Treefrog?)

Location
Nashville, TN

Date of sighting
9 Nov 2007

I was unlocking my front door when something at eye level in my peripheral vision made me jump. A treefrog had taken up residence in my mailbox, which was a good five feet off the porch and an additional six feet off the ground. Since it's right below my porch light, I guessed he found his odds of catching dinner improved in the chill of late fall by moving into the mailbox and waiting for the light to come on.He was peeping out the hole like it was the most natural thing in the world.

After a half hour or so of not seeming to mind me at all, he withdrew into the safety of the mailbox. Later, when I was leaving, I peered in the box and he was gone. I've seen no sign of him since.

Species
American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

Location
Wesley Chapel, Florida

Date of sighting
2 Sep 2004

The wife came out of the house one morning and was looking for the cat. She noticed a crowd of neighbors across the street with cameras. They warned her about the alligator before she got to the car and she promptly joined them across the street. The alligator continued to cross several other yards before settling into a nearby pond. We would see him there for several years sunning himself on the banks of his new home.

From then on we always checked under the car before getting into it. The cat showed up several hours later and his hair was all white! Of course his hair was all white even before that time. :)

Tags:
Dating doves, Parc Guell, Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain
Species
Columba livia (Domestic pigeon or dove)

Location
Parc Guell, Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain

Date of sighting
8 Sep 2007

This was a pretty peculiar sighting as one of the two pigeons was taking a bath and the other one was waiting for the first one and hurrying it to finish. This looked as many of those boyfriend, girlfriend relationships and one of them delaying the other before going out. The bathing dove didn't want out of the water probably because it must have been refreshing in the summer heat of that day.

Tags:
Female Moose (Alces alces)
Species
Alces alces (American Moose)

Location
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Date of sighting
4 Jun 2007

There seems to be some confusion about the common naming of this species; depending if you are in North America or Europe they are called interchangeably with another. The moose is the largest deer type mammal in the Americas, the elk is the second. Wikipedia makes a good job at differentiating and explaining this large and beautiful animal. My wife and I took this picture at the beginning of this summer in the Jasper National Park.

Tags:
Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)
Species
Passer hispaniolensis (Spanish Sparrow)

Location
Garden of the Lions Castle of the Nazari Sultans, Granada, Spain

Date of sighting
20 Jul 2007

I found this bird blending in with the fantastic architecture of the Castle of the Nazari Sultans in the Garden of the Lions (Palacios Nazaries Patio de los Leones) in Granada, Spain.

Albino Anole in the front porch sideAlbino Anole in the front porch top
Species
Anolis sagrei (brown anole)

Location
The front of my house, Tampa, FL

Date of sighting
6 Sep 2007

I am sure my neighbor didn't appreciate the flash on my camera flashing like crazy over and over almost at midnight, but I couldn't pass the opportunity to photograph what might be an albino anole. In any case, I went back to my computer to check if such a thing was a rare find and came with this recent forum post from Kingsnake forum where somebody also took pictures. After reading the post I hurried back and tried to catch it, but the thing ran into some bushes and became out of reach. I wouldn't normally run around in pajamas with a bottomless plastic 2 liter coke bottle and a broom but in my mind this might have been worth it. The bad thing is that the lizard might be so scared that it might never return.