Coyotes Are Taking Over Jamaica Plain
37 coyote reports in 90 days, four dead in two hours around Forest Hills, and 179 dead rabbits that might not be a coincidence.
coyotesjamaica-plainwildlifebostonforest-hills
3 min readStories
Data-driven tales from the urban critter underground.
Chicago's Rodents Are Evolving to Handle City Life
125 years of Chicago rodent skulls tell a wild story about what cities do to the animals living in them.
ratschicagoscienceevolution
4 min read
NYC Put Its Trash in Bins. The Rats Are Losing.
NYC's trash containerization program has driven 12 straight months of rat sighting declines. Boston is still debating whether to try it. Here's what the data says.
nycbostoncontainerizationpolicyrats
3 min read
Why Do So Many Pigeons Hang Around T Stops? Boston's Data Has an Answer.
17 years of Boston 311 data show pigeon reports have increased 10-fold since 2008 â and 68% of them cluster within 500 meters of an MBTA rapid transit station.
pigeonsmbtaboston
5 min read
19 Boston Restaurants Closed in January. Their Inspection Histories Told the Story.
We pulled the health inspection records for every Boston restaurant that closed in January 2026. Some had clean histories. Others had been racking up violations for years. Here's what the data shows.
restaurantsbostonclosureshealth-inspectionsdata
6 min read
Your City's Raccoons Are Slowly Turning Into Pets
A viral study found urban raccoons have shorter snouts than rural ones, a classic sign of domestication. Your trash pandas may be evolving to live with you.
raccoonswildlifesciencebostonnyc
4 min read
Cannoli, Cobblestones, and Rats: Inside the North End's Rodent Problem
The North End is Boston's most beloved neighborhood. It's also the city's most densely ratted. We mapped more than 500 reports in the last year to show you exactly what's happening.
north-endbostonratsrestaurantsneighborhood
4 min read
Where Do NYC's Rats Go During a Blizzard?
NYC just got buried under two feet of snow. The rats didn't leave. They moved in with you.
ratsnycblizzardweatherclimate
4 min read
Something Is Stalking the South End
16 coyote sightings in 8 days, all within a 5-block radius. We mapped every one.
coyotessouth-endwildlifeboston
3 min read
Welcome to Rat Radar Stories
We track rats, raccoons, coyotes, and restaurant inspections across major US cities. Now we're telling the stories behind the data.
announcementdatacritters
2 min read