Every spring, a group of mallard ducks starts a long journey from their wintering grounds to the place of their birth. They travel not to a marsh, or a national park, but to a tiny patch of parkland within the densest urban area in the United States—Rockefeller University (RU) and our Faculty Club fountain. Our campus often feels like an oasis from the honks and sirens of York Avenue and the FDR drive, but the ducks are a reminder that we are not the only animals benefiting from our few square feet of green in the heart of the Upper East Side. With this in mind I set out to compile a list of the wildlife, both wild and otherwise, with whom we share our campus. The list relies entirely on anecdotal accounts and so is limited to those animals identified and identifiable by the RU community. It is certainly not comprehensive and possibly not entirely accurate, but it provides an interesting snapshot of the types of animal encounters experienced and considered notable by our human campus residents.

A robin enjoys some berries outside of Smith Hall. Photo by Jenni Li

Our largest group of co-inhabitants is the birds with over twenty different identifications. This list includes the common: robins, starlings, blue jays, cardinals, house finches, slate-eyed juncos, crows, mourning doves, common and song sparrows, grackles, sea gulls drifting in from over the river, and the ubiquitous pigeons; as well as some slightly more exotic sightings: grey catbirds, mockingbirds, northern flickers, downy woodpeckers, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, and unidentified hummingbirds and warblers. Birds live among us so seamlessly it is easy to forget that they are still wild animals. While some RU residents enjoy house finches and pigeons comically fighting over seed at a window feeder, others have described a more sobering view of our feathered friends. We might cheer on the peregrine that was seen ripping apart a pigeon from a window in Founder’s Hall, but it can be difficult to watch as the many duck families compete, sometimes brutally, for limited fountain space.

Wild mammals are, unsurprisingly, under-represented. Notably, there are very few squirrels, probably due to the sparseness of trees in the areas surrounding campus. However, those of us staying a little too late in lab might have the opportunity to meet some of our nocturnal mammalian residents. The most unusual sighting is a possum, seen by a graduate student, casually walking down the 64th Street ramp. Several raccoons have also been spotted on the grounds, including one brazenly entering through the 66th Street gate, presumably right past security. Bats have also been observed catching insects above the tennis courts at night. Their daytime place of residence remains a mystery, and is hopefully not on campus.

Perhaps the most telling campus animal stories are the ones that take into account the fact that our green space is not, in fact, wild. Just as the trees are planted and the grounds tended, most of the animals on campus are fed and housed by us. Several faculty-owned dogs entertain us by running around the campus lawns and, occasionally leash free, through our hallways. From the residences, cats peer out of windows at birdfeeders and caged birds chirp with their wild counterparts. Not to be forgotten are the many animals housed in the Comparative Bioscience Center (CBC), making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our school motto.

The most exotic animal to have ever traversed the Rockefeller grounds comes from this last group. A photo, displayed on the third floor of Scholar’s Residence, shows a baboon, having made a successful escape, walking along the outside of a RU building. The caption states that he was never found. We can only hope he somehow found his way to his own green oasis, one further away from the busy New York streets and its many human residents.