Did COVID-19 lockdowns bring wildlife back to our cities?
- Xavier Neo
- Nov 20, 2020
- 2 min read
During lockdowns in cities worldwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic, social media and news outlets went abuzz with peculiar sightings of wildlife roaming our emptied streets, seemingly emboldened by the fall in human traffic to explore our streets in broad daylight.
Report: Clips of wildlife roaming emptied streets during COVID-19 lockdowns in cities around the world (Source: South China Morning Post)
Some may find this slightly reminiscent of the remarkable recolonization of Chernobyl by wildlife 30 years after the nuclear disaster. This, however, raises the question:
Does wildlife only return when humans leave?
Gallery: Wildlife reclaiming our cities during COVID-19 lockdowns?
Top left: Puma on the streets of Santiago, Chile (Source: AFP); Top right: Dolphins surfacing in a usually busy port in Istanbul, Turkey (Source: AFP); Bottom left: Sea lions resting on a street in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Source: CDN Digital); Bottom right: Indian civet crossing a road in Kerala, India (Source: Indian Forest Office)
While most media coverage (e.g. BBC, Guardian, CNBC) perpetuate the Chernobyl narrative of wildlife reclaiming spaces abandoned by humans, some ecologists argue for caution in interpreting these reports at face value. Many of these species are known urban dwellers and we lack sufficient evidence to conclude whether these spikes in sightings reflect a true increase in urban wildlife or that wildlife has simply become more conspicuous during the dreary lull of lockdowns. Research efforts are underway to quantify the precise effects of lockdowns on urban wildlife.
"After all, wildlife detections are not solely conditional on species presence in a given area —they must also be observed"
What about the wildlife that we feed?
Contrary to popular belief, "pests" like rats and pigeons are part of our urban biodiversity and might even be the hardest-hit during lockdowns.
Europe's feral pigeons, deprived of food crumbs dropped by humans, now risk starvation according to animal rights groups.
With garbage dumps near restaurants empty, Seattle's rats have become bolder in their desperate hunt for food - venturing out in broad daylight and into homes, even cannibalizing other rats. Some ecologists believe this race to adapt would speed up natural selection.
What happens after COVID-19?
It is unclear what a post-'Anthropause' world will look like for urban wildlife. Some foresee a reversion to pre-COVID times; some predict even greater threats from accelerated urbanization while others highlight the optimistic potential to incorporate our learnings from this pandemic into more wildlife-friendly city planning.
If anything, our current fascination with our wild neighbours would hopefully cultivate a better understanding and appreciation for urban biodiversity.
Comentários