As billions of people across the planet have retreated indoors to combat the spread of the coronavirus, wildlife roams more freely. Empty streets and the absence of people have made animals bolder while animals normally dependent on tourists, desperately seek food.
Packs of jackals have taken over a park in the heart of Tel Aviv in Israel. Wild boars have been spotted in the Israeli city of Haifa.
With Chile under a nighttime curfew, a wild puma was captured wandering around the deserted capital of Santiago.
Lower maritime traffic and a ban on fishing are part of the lockdown measures in place in Istanbul since April 23rd. Dolphins are swimming near the shoreline these days in the Bosphorus.
According to the Hindustan Times, the Bombay Natural History Society estimated that the number of flamingos are 25% more than in 2019 in the Talawe wetlands and other areas of Mumbai, India. The lockdown means a lack of human interference in their obtaining food and roosting. A successful breeding season two years ago also likely plays a role in the large numbers.
Hundreds of monkeys have taken over streets around the Indian president’s palace during the country’s lockdown.
Troops of monkeys, normally dependent on tourists for food inside the Prang Sam Yod temple complex, in Lopburi, Thailand, boldly seek
food outside. The temple monkeys were seen on social media violently clashing with monkeys from the surrounding area.
In Florida, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center reported an increase in leatherback turtles this year, though numbers have dropped since the beginning of this month. According to Dr. Justin Perrault, director of research, the turtles have been bigger and healthier. Though the good news may have nothing to do with fewer people on the beach, fewer people means fewer interactions, which is good for the animals overall.
For weeks, coyotes have been spotted on San Francisco’s empty streets. At least one has been seen near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Thousands of birds have flocked to Agua Dulce beach, which is normally thronged with people in Lima, Peru.
Raccoons, prominent in urban areas, are being spotted more frequently.
Mountain goats who live on the rocky Great Orme in Wales are usually only occasional visitors to the seaside town of Llandudno. They’ve been increasingly drawn to the area by the lack of people during the coronavirus lockdown.
And endangered turtles seem to nest in greater numbers along beaches suddenly empty of tourists. Thailand reported 11 leatherback turtle nesting sites since November, the largest increase in two decades.
The European roe deer is endemic to the Tatara Mountains straddling Poland and Slovakia. The animals have been seen more freely roaming towns and cities they previously avoided.
