Lions are dozing in the road in Kruger Park and Penguins are strolling around Simon’s Town. It looks like animals are enjoying the lack of humans during international lockdowns and exploring the cities and towns.
Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see. #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.
📸Section Ranger Richard Sowry pic.twitter.com/jFUBAWvmsA— Kruger National Park (@SANParksKNP) April 15, 2020
Amid the international lockdowns to curb the coronavirus, animals, birds and fish are popping up in unusual places, that is places that are usually inhabited by humans. In the Kruger Park, South Africa the images above show a pride of around 15 lions lounging on a road in the sun. They are seemingly unperturbed by the presence of the photographer, park ranger Richard Sowry.
Goats in the Street
In a coastal town in North Wales, wild goats were spotted roaming the streets.
These are referred to as Great Orme Kashmiri goats, whose ancestors originated from northern India, according to the town’s official website.
Town resident, Carl Triggs, was returning home after delivering personal protective equipment masks when he saw the goats.
“The goats live on the hill overlooking the town. They stay up there, very rarely venturing into the street,” he told CNN.
Animals in the Streets
In these crazy times we are living in, with much of the world driven indoors to quarantine, some species not often seen, are exploring cities. And most striking in these images,is the backdrop of empty streets and parks.
People in New Delhi have noticed monkeys seeking for food stuff in an alleyway lined with closed shops. In Venice, Italy, canals have turned crystal clear after boat traffic was halted due to COVID-19. The clean water has lured swans and fish to enjoy the canals right before tourists return in gondolas.
Here’s an unexpected side effect of the pandemic – the water’s flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned. pic.twitter.com/2egMGhJs7f
— Kaveri 🇮🇳 (@ikaveri) March 16, 2020
Despite human devastation, studies have already shown that the international lockdowns due to coronavirus has had a positive impact on the environment across the globe.
Along with the cleansing of Venice’s canals, the air over Italy has similarly purified due to slowing emissions from power plants, cars and other industrial sources, according to new data from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-5p satellite.
The European Public Health office has a series of maps that show how air pollution has cleared across the world.
