Wild inhabitants of megacities

• The wild inhabitants of cities

In some big cities, when you come back in the morning with a party until everyone is asleep, sneak through the deserted streets foxes. Brief meeting recalls that man shares the space with wildlife. French photographer Laurent Geslen (Laurent Geslin) created a photographic project Urban Wildlife ( "urban wilderness"), which lifts the veil over the life of wild animals, with which urban residents exist side by side.

Geslen lived in different cities, but only after he moved to London, the photographer discovered complex ecosystems that exist within urban agglomerations.

"Urban wildlife was not very common twenty years ago - says the author of pictures. - wildlife photographer wanted to show "pure" nature. " In London Geslenu met scavengers, predators and their prey. He missed filming wildlife, but soon began to find pleasure in photographing urban foxes and herons in the city parks.

So, what he was doing at the time was a rarity. Soon the BBC saw his pictures and began to send him to the capital from different countries of Europe in the framework of the project Wild Wonders of Europe ( "Wild wonders of Europe"). "I became known as the photographer of urban wildlife" - says Laurent Geslen.

Inexhaustible interest in its work Geslenu allowed to visit different cities in England, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. In European cities, he was looking for certain animals. "I went to the Orleans for beavers in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland for bats species northern bat", - he says.

Most of the images the photographer was doing early in the morning, although the bears in the Romanian Brasov were less predictable. "I had to stay up all night, because I did not know what time they will be on the streets of Brasov."

"Urban wildlife is usually less shy than in rural areas", - explains Geslen. Over time, he won the trust of animals photographed. "I found in London Cemetery, where he went every day. There I make a clicking sound to beckon the local fox. After a few months of practice so they got used to me that they themselves came up to me and stopped only a few feet. "

It is not known whether this idea of ​​the photographer, but when you look at pictures from the project Urban Wildlife, the question arises: are we seeing the animals or they're watching us?