Wild animals roam urban streets amid coronavirus lockdown

Digital WritersThe Weather Network
Digital Writers

When the humans are away, the animals will play.

As most of the world heads indoors to combat the spread of coronavirus, wild animals are finding more space to roam.

Empty streets, where the only sound is birds chirping, isn't something you'd expect to find in New York City. Goats who usually graze in nature reserves stroll through an empty Welsh town unimpeded, and after a lockdown was put in place in Venice, residents noticed the clearing of the canal, and fish were spotted in the water.

The one small silver lining to the global pandemic: Mother Nature appears to be getting a bit of a breather.

In Spain, various wild animals, including goats and peacocks, have been seen roaming urban streets since the country's lockdown began.

Near Barcelona, wild boars invaded the coastal town of Arenys de Mar. Police had to be called in to herd them back to the forest.

But not all animals are thriving in the absence of humans.

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Gangs of starving monkeys have flooded the streets of Lopburi, Thailand. The throngs of tourists that normally visit the area usually feed the monkeys and a lack of people has led to a food shortage.

Locals have been asked to help feed the monkeys with their leftovers, with the Thai government expecting foreign tourist arrival numbers to fall by 5 million this year due to the outbreak.

According to data from March 25, between 20 and 25 per cent of the world's estimated 7.8 billion people is under some form of COVID-19 lockdown, which equates to between 1.56 and 1.95 billion people.

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Thumbnail image courtesy: Getty.