Instructions
Do the preparation exercise first and then read the article. If you find it too easy, try the next level. After reading, do the exercises to check your understanding.
Preparation
Before you read the article, do this exercise. It will help you to understand some of the more difficult words.
One night in December 2011, a bear came into the city of Vancouver in Canada. It walked through the city streets past houses, shops and offices. Then it found some food in bins outside a restaurant and started eating. In the morning, someone saw the bear and called the police. The police came with a vet from the city zoo. They put the bear in a lorry and took it to the mountains outside the city. Luckily, the bear was safe. But what happens in other countries when big animals come into cities? In Vancouver it is unusual to see a bear, but in some cities you can see big animals on the city streets every day.
Big animals usually come into cities to find food. In Cape Town in South Africa baboons come into the city when they are hungry. They go into gardens and eat fruit from trees. They even go into houses and take food from cupboards and fridges! Baboons are strong animals and they can scare people. But the city can be dangerous for baboons too. Sometimes, cars and buses kill baboons in accidents. Human food is very bad for the baboons’ teeth because it has a lot of sugar. Now, there are Baboon Monitors working in Cape Town. Their job is to find baboons in the city and return them to the countryside.
In Berlin in Germany, pigs sometimes come into the city to look for food. They eat flowers and plants in parks and gardens. Sometimes they eat vegetables from gardens and they walk in the street and cause accidents. Some people like the pigs and they give them food and water to drink. Other people do not like the pigs and they want the government and the police to stop them entering the city.
In Moscow in Russia, there are 35,000 wild dogs. The dogs live in parks, old houses, markets and train stations. Some dogs live in groups and others live alone. Many people in Moscow like the dogs. They give them food and water. Some people make small houses for the dogs in their gardens. This helps the dogs in winter, when the temperature in Moscow is -10 ºC and there is a lot of snow and ice.
Many animals live in cities. In some cities, you can see birds, insects, mice and squirrels every day. But sometimes, it is dangerous when big animals come into cities to find food. We need to find ways of stopping animals coming into the city without hurting them.
Robin Newton
Which animals do you see in the town or city where you live?
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