Marlena Wyman asks what wildlife species are so adapted to city life that they depend on the city to survive? We decided to answer with a gameshow, pitting a cockroach, a magpie, an elm, and a hare against each other to claim the title of The Most Edmonton Species.

Our contestants

West Edmonton Mall cockroach – defended by Mike Jenkins, Coordinator of Pest Management for the City of Edmonton

American elm – defended by Jim Hole, founding member of Hole’s Greenhouses and Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture

Ghost magpie – defended by Jocelyn Hudon, Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Alberta Museum

White-tailed prairie hare – defended by Dale Gienow, Director of Wild Rescue at WILDNorth

Further Reading

• “‘Ghost magpies’ add intrigue to Edmonton’s urban wildlife” (Edmonton Journal – August 17, 2019)
• Myths of the Mall (Avenue Edmonton – February 12, 2013)
• Local family-run gardening company Hole’s Greenhouse sold (Global News Edmonton – October 28, 2019)

This episode is made possible by support from Taproot Edmonton and the Edmonton Historical Board.

We also gave shout-outs in the episode to Unit B Coworking and The Well-Endowed Podcast.