Coronavirus: With little human presence on the streets, nature expresses itself more freely

A Puma wandering down a deserted street in Santiago, Chile.

You can hear the birds singing on the street trees, wild boars and fawns
have been seen around the cities and dolphins near the coasts.

Source: chiledesarrollosustentable.cl
Translated by: Raul Silva M.
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April. 2020.- Human confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a calm environment in the cities, and animals are taking advantage of it. In the first days of confinement due to the virus, the inhabitants of large cities could clearly hear the birds to sing, wild boars were even sighted in Barcelona and a puma roaming the deserted streets of Santiago de Chile.

It is evident that with the absence of humans on the streets and urban areas, the animals "have free rein to wander the cities", says Romain Julliard, research director at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Julliard cites foxes as an example. These animals "change their behavior very quickly, when a space is quiet, they go".

In the same way, animals and birds that live in urban green spaces, such as sparrows, pigeons and other birds, can leave their usual territory and "free up space for other animals".

Wild birds in Punta Arenas, Chile