Travel dipped, animals thrived

As the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the world and led to millions of human deaths, the state of wildlife in many parts of the world seemed to improve. In many cities across the globe, rare animals, some not seen in years, were observed inhabiting areas close to human populations.

In the Western Coast of America, for example, videos of coyotes walking down San Francisco’s streets surfaced. Birdsong became much louder than before while people shared pictures of snakes on sidewalks and bike trails. 

In the coastal town of Llandudno in North Wales, more than 100 wild Kashmiri goats descended on the empty town during the first few months of the pandemic and helped themselves to lush flowers. 

"They are curious, goats are, and I think they are wondering what's going on like everybody else," the town’s councillor Carol Marubbi told the BBC. Some referred to the strange scenario as the “revenge of wildlife.”

“During Covid-19, people began staying home in record numbers. And the landscape of fear that we make stayed at home with us. The fewer people they see around, the more [animals] are willing to come out during the day,” stated the online Science News for Students.

The closure of wildlife markets, especially in southeast Asia was another boon to rise in some wildlife species, more so since the pandemic is said to have originated from a wet market in China’s Wuhan province. International travel restrictions made it difficult for the illegal trade in wild animals such as the pangolin, the world’s most trafficked animal.

Figures released at the end of August by Kenya Wildlife Service in conjunction with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute show the number of elephants has risen to 36,169 from 32,214 in 2014, a 12 per cent increase. In 2020, only 11 elephants were poached as opposed to 400 in 2013.