Why urban safaris are on the rise and where to try one

Anyone who’s seen the winning image from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, of a leopard snaking through the backstreets of Mumbai, will know that cities are no longer the biodiversity deserts they were once perceived to be.

As small steps are being taken around the world to redress the effects of rapid urbanisation, space is being created for humans and animals to coexist and, slowly but surely, nature is returning to even our most densely populated areas.

In London, major urban rewilding projects include the restoration of historic wetlands from Walthamstow to Woodberry, alongside a new 14-mile 'nature corridor' launched in April by Initiative Earth. Stretching through east London, it will connect communities via a network of restored green spaces.

As the regreening movement continues to spread its roots worldwide — from Singapore's vertical gardens to New York’s High Line — habitats are being clawed back and a new opportunity is emerging for nature-lovers: urban wildlife safaris.

Growing interest in seeing nature on our doorstep is in part down to the 'Attenborough Effect', says Beki Henderson, an expedition-expert TV producer, who’s encountered camp-prowling lions while filming Walking with Elephants with Levison Wood and river-roaming bears while shooting Steve Backshall’s Expedition series.

"Brilliant shows like Wild London and Secret Garden are great at shifting the focus away from the idea that nature is something distant or 'other', found only in remote, exotic locations," she says.

"For a long time, wildlife has been framed as something you travel to see. But when people begin to notice and engage with wildlife on their doorstep, that sense of separation disappears."

Johnny Prince, co-founder of Timbuktu Travel, agrees: "Urban wildlife safaris flip the traditional idea of a safari on its head. Instead of travelling hours into the wilderness, you’re seeing wildlife on the edge of, or within, a city, which feels compelling because of the sense of juxtaposition, immediacy and surprise."

The company offers excursions into Nairobi National Park — a flora- and fauna-rich sanctuary where lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and endangered black rhinos can be spotted against the Kenyan capital’s skyline — as well as trips along Cape Town’s coast to see endangered African penguins and game in the Cape of Good Hope reserve.

But the trend arguably becomes even more interesting the more urban you get. You can now go bat-watching beneath the bridges of Austin, spot peregrines nesting on New York skyscrapers and spy red squirrels darting through Amsterdam’s southern parks, including Amsterdamse Bos, Amstelpark and, appropriately, Beatrixpark.

There are coyotes in Chicago and around 350 bird species thriving in the once-industrial Puerto Madero docklands of Buenos Aires, centred on the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur wetland.

The prospect of an 'Urban Big Five' no longer seems so far-fetched. The London Wildlife Trust, which co-produced Attenborough’s Wild London and offers guided trips across its 36 free-to-access sites, points visitors towards beavers at Paradise Fields in Ealing (and Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham from 2027), kingfishers at both Walthamstow and Woodberry Wetlands, peregrines on landmarks such as the Tate Modern and Battersea Power Station, stag beetles in Sydenham Hill Wood and red foxes, well, pretty much everywhere. There are even plans to reintroduce white storks to Eastbrookend this autumn.

But it also offers a word of caution. While some animals have adapted well to urban living and others have benefitted from conservation initiatives, overall, wildlife in cities is still in decline. Many species have suffered from habitat loss, fragmentation, water pollution and light pollution, while others — including foxes, peregrines, magpies and grey squirrels — have flourished by exploiting food waste and nesting opportunities.

If we want to continue spotting wildlife in our cities, we need to design urban landscapes and gardens with nature in mind. Even a small balcony or window box can make a difference for invertebrates and pollinators, creating a positive ripple effect throughout the food chain. It may not result in a leopard prowling past your pansies, but we can all create small safe havens where wildlife can live, feed and breed.