London’s urban wildlife revolution: how city microclimates support everything from scorpions to peacocks

London has quietly become Britain’s most biodiverse urban environment, hosting an remarkable array of wildlife that extends far beyond the famous London Zoo. The sprawling metropolis now serves as home to scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, and falcons—all thriving in the wild within city limits, making it the only place in the UK where such diverse species coexist in a single urban area.

This unexpected wildlife boom stems from London’s complex network of microclimates—small-scale environmental pockets that create vastly different living conditions across the city. These microclimates range from warm, sheltered areas near building foundations where scorpions can survive Britain’s typically harsh winters, to waterways that attract seals and provide habitat for aquatic species, to green spaces and rooftops that support bird populations.

Sam Davenport, director of nature recovery at the London Wildlife Trust, describes this phenomenon as creating an extraordinary “mosaic” of wildlife habitats throughout UK cities. The variation in urban environments—from industrial heat islands to cool riverside corridors, from manicured parks to wild brownfield sites—generates the diverse conditions necessary to support species that would typically require completely different geographic regions.

This urban biodiversity success story demonstrates how cities can function as unexpected conservation havens when microclimates align to create suitable habitats. London’s experience offers valuable insights for urban planners and conservationists working to enhance biodiversity in metropolitan areas worldwide.