We city animals (Swiss Press Local 2020, by Urs Bühler) - Swiss Press Award
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Urs Bühler
Animals are not usually associated with the city, but with the country. Nonetheless, there are over 600 animal species living in Zurich alone, roaming free and therefore mostly out of sight. Urs Bühler uses his column to feature one species every month. In spring, he is bugged by ants who “in columns, sometimes in legions” invade living spaces that are not their rightful homes. In summer, he muses that the wall lizards, who once arrived as hitchhikers on trains from Ticino and Italy, are contributing to the “mediterraneanisation” of Zurich, where they have alighted along the rail network. In autumn, he writes about the wild ducks: “The sight of the chicks, excitedly lining up in the water behind their always single-parenting mother, like a string of pearls, is just as much a part of the familiar cityscape as the waddling amble of the adult birds on land.” And in winter, Bühler warns that the clever red foxes are “not cuddly animals, but wild ones”, which some people absolutely refuse to accept.
Interview with Urs Bühler
