Mammals evoke an instant camaraderie — their familiar facial features, soft fur, and curious behavior reinforce our kinship with Wild Things. Most New Yorkers have encountered an Eastern Grey Squirrel, or even a Raccoon. But New York City is home to Foxes, Flying Squirrels, mighty Humpback Whales, and North America’s only Marsupial. What lives here may surprise even a lifelong New Yorker.

Every green space in New York City is an island, surrounded on all sides by vehicle traffic, rodenticides, and unfriendly architecture. Nevertheless, they persist. Foxes and Coyotes den and raise their young here, Harbor Seals gestate their litters, and complex food-webs have evolved under urban pressures like nowhere else in the world. Take a look below at some of the mammals you can find in New York City.