Anthropogenic Food Sources in the Co-Existence of Humans with Liminal Animals in Northern Environments

This chapter examines the visual representation of liminal animals over the past 126 years in National Geographic, a widely read popular science magazine. It also examines the representation of liminal animals in northern environments. Historically, many animals in northern environments have relied upon, and been influenced by, anthropogenic food sources. In Finland, red foxes have adjusted to urban living by increasingly relying on anthropogenic food sources, habituating to the presence of humans, and using human-made structures for shelter. Visual media are a source of popular culture that has rarely been the focus of scholarly work on the representation of liminal animals. Agency is an important characteristic of an animal's liminality in the activities of feeding, building nests, rummaging in garbage dumps, and begging for food. The largest proportion of liminal animal photographs in the sample was of wild birds, many of which were from the early years of National Geographic.