Around the World, Wild Animals Appearing on City Streets
Now that people across the world are sheltering in place, different local animals are becoming a bit more bold with their visits to urban areas. Herds of Elephants in India, Pumas roaming Santiago Chile, herds of Ibex in Israel, swarms of rats in New Orleans, and coyotes in San Francisco. Keep in mind that it is difficult to authenticate these videos on social media. Many were posted by private parties and picked up by local media outlets, so take them with a grain of salt.
What is for certain, is that each place around the world has it’s own kind of wonderul wildlife, and these videos depict that wildlife wandering into city streets, like they own the place. Personally, I enjoy being reminded of how each part of the world has it’s own, distinct, and sometimes hilarious native animal populations. These videos simply make you smile.
Singapore: Otters in the City Center Fountain
According to local Singapore news site CNA and National Geographic, Singapore’s local otter population have taken full advantage of the empty city streets, they’re now swimming in the city fountains and trouncing around downtown as they please.
Great Britain: Wild Goats
They know exactly what they’re doing. Have some lunch from a bush and then go for a lie down in the churchyard pic.twitter.com/naUH7YPBbK
— Andrew Stuart (@AndrewStuart) March 30, 2020
Chile: Pumas
Apparently puma sightings are cropping up in Santiago Chile: “For the second time in a little over a week, a wild puma was spotted roaming the streets of the Chilean capital Santiago” –
Thailand: Monkeys
“The fall in tourist numbers because of COVID-19 may have indeed brought about a shortage of food supply for them,” Asmita Sengupta, an ecologist at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment in India, tells The New York Times.
Oakland: Wild Turkeys
To be fair, there are reports of these turkeys in Oakland before the shelter in place order was given, but it is true that they haven’t left. Look at how stupid this male is, he prefers to waddle in the middle of the street
Who’s turkeys are these? They are walking along Pleasant Valley Road in Oakland right now!!!!! pic.twitter.com/uFcbsnufsm
— Lisa Fernandez (@ljfernandez) March 7, 2019
Israel: Ibex
The ancient ibex are a alpine species of goat, and apparently they are visiting the empty beaches on the Mediterranean.
Ibex were seen at Almog (Coral) Beach in Eilat.
Video taken by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. pic.twitter.com/LWmmhZjxzD
— ~Legacy~ נפתלי בן מתתיהו (@Immort4l_Legacy) March 27, 2020
New Orleans, LA: Rats
The rats have always been there, just normally most of them are under the road in the sewers ect. But this week many outlets reported the swarms of rats cruising the open road of Bourbon street in New Orleans. Normally swarming with tourists on any given weekend.
The rats in the French Quarter are running wild on vacant Bourbon Street.
Credit: New Orleans Insider Tours.https://t.co/b2Y4OKvEiu pic.twitter.com/p0FNTcGTg8— Mike Mills (@Mike504Saints) March 21, 2020
Argentina: Capybara
#BuenosAires #Argentina
While we, humans pay the high price of the decisions we made, they, our beloved animals, are recovering their place, the one that was once stolen from them ..#capybara #capibara pic.twitter.com/LmnK3ohgoq— Warriors4Wildlife_SA™?Ⓥ? (@AleZ2016) March 30, 2020
India: Elephants & an endangered Civet
MAMMOTH INSPECTION: This is from early on Saturday morning at a forest surrounded town in Wayanad district of Kerala bordering Karnataka. A wild male elephant inspected the road. This landscape has good population of elephants. Video recorded by FD staff. pic.twitter.com/hps2ZnU1kS
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) March 29, 2020
Spotted Malabar civet… A critically endangered mammal not seen until 1990 resurfaces for the first time in India during lockdown. pic.twitter.com/Xjsy3YGdDI
— Nature is cruel? (@NatureiscrueI) March 28, 2020
Spain: wild boars
the most common sighting around Europe are wild boar, and of different kinds of deer:
? Vecinos de Arenys de Mar graban a una manada de unos diez jabalíes paseando tranquilamente por el pueblo de la costa del Maresme.
Los animales salieron provechando que las calles estaban desiertas por el confinamiento decretado por la crisis sanitaria del Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/heQm3bRooG
— La Vanguardia (@LaVanguardia) March 25, 2020
Slovakia: Wild Boar
Here in the my town in Slovakia is the certain settlement, based on a mound near a forest, where you are not surprised, when you see next to the enter of Tesco a wild board family.
Funny is that they never fear people after years of „living“ together. pic.twitter.com/KaexQ9f5Wb— Aufnordung (@Aufnordung) March 31, 2020
South Carolina: Alligator
“Nature’s already beginning to reclaim this little bit of Myrtle Beach.” One South Carolina resident captured an alligator nonchalantly taking a trip to a vacant mall as shops are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.”
"Nature's already beginning to reclaim this little bit of Myrtle Beach."
One South Carolina resident captured an alligator nonchalantly taking a trip to a vacant mall as shops are closed during the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/9DiTrttm4s pic.twitter.com/O1vxREZhRk
— ABC News (@ABC) April 4, 2020
Tel Aviv International Airport: Geese
“This family of geese waddled across a quiet tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel Monday. Many airlines have cut flights as the country implements travel restrictions in response to the new coronavirus outbreak.”
This family of geese waddled across a quiet tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel Monday. Many airlines have cut flights as the country implements travel restrictions in response to the new coronavirus outbreak. https://t.co/NqyZ829t6w pic.twitter.com/L4jUOzkfEL
— CBS Sunday Morning ? (@CBSSunday) March 17, 2020