Chicago Wildlife Watch

About

Since 2010, Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute has collected more than 1 million photos of Chicago-area wildlife. Coyotes, turkeys, foxes, skunks and squirrels are among the species recorded via hundreds of motion-activated field cameras that range from the Loop to the suburbs.

But while the cameras automatically take the photos, people must ID the animals.

Lincoln Park Zoo, in partnership with Adler Planetarium’s Zooniverse, has created Chicago Wildlife Watch. This special citizen-science project collects all the Urban Wildlife Biodiversity Monitoring project’s photos in one place online, giving everyone a chance to ID the animals within—and help scientists understand which species make their homes in Chicagoland’s backyards.

Join the Cause

Give it a try—ID some Chicago animals now at chicagowildlifewatch.org!