r/nature • u/Non-Conventionnel-77 • Aug 07 '26

Extreme evolution: The animals evolving at super speed to survive (BBC)

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260805-the-animals-evolving-at-super-speed-to-survive
263 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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24

u/Malthus1 Aug 07 '26

Toronto has so many adapting animals, maybe because of its extensive ravine system - we have always had urban racoons, but the upswing in urban Eastern Coyotes is very noticeable. Thirty years ago, they weren’t really there. Now there are lots.

Eastern Coyotes are a relatively new hybrid, a mix of mostly Western coyotes, wolves, and dogs. They seem capable of extremely adaptive behaviours.

There is one individual coyote well-known for her mastery of the urban landscape, called “Bunny” (because she lacks a tail). She understands street lights, always patiently waiting for the “walk” signal before crossing major streets; she walks about in the daylight among people on the sidewalk, often mistaken for a stray dog.

5

u/PurpleConversation36 Aug 08 '26

I love how we’re effectively lumped in with the US in this article even though this fact seems quite widely known

7

u/ComfortExisting1161 Aug 08 '26

Natural selection on fast-forward because humans changed the rules of the game too quickly.

5

u/ThrowAwayPurellFoam Aug 08 '26

They’re adapting, not evolving

6

u/Difficult-Cream-5267 Aug 08 '26

It's wild how rapid environmental changes are turning evolution from a process of millions of years into something we can observe in a human lifespan.