Wildlife life in a big city

In some big cities, when you come back in the morning from a party, while everyone is asleep, foxes are sneaking along the deserted streets. A brief meeting reminds us that a person shares this space with representatives of wildlife. French photographer Laurent Geslin has created a photo project Urban Wildlife ("Urban Wildlife"), which opens the veil over the life of wild animals with which urban residents exist side by side.

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

What he was doing was rare at that time. Soon the BBC channel noticed his pictures and began to send him to the capitals of different European countries as part of the Wild Wonders of Europe project. "I became known as a photographer of urban wildlife," recalls Laurent Geslen.

The inexhaustible interest in his work allowed Geslen to visit different cities in England, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. In European cities, he was looking for certain animals. "I went to Orleans for beavers and to La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland for northern leatherette bats," he says.

The photographer took most of the pictures in the early morning, although the bears in the Romanian Brasov turned out to be less predictable. "I had to stay up all night because I didn't know what time they would be on the streets of Brasov."

"Urban wildlife is usually less shy than in rural areas," explains Geslen. Over time, he gained the trust of the animals he photographed. "I found a cemetery in London where I went every day. There I made a clicking sound to lure the local foxes. After a few months of practice, they got so used to me that they would come up to me and stop just a few feet away."

It is not known whether this was the photographer's idea, however, when you look at the pictures from the Urban Wildlife photo project, the question arises: are we watching the animals or are they watching us?