Goats and sheep are now grazing alongside the deserted Istanbul Airport highway in Turkey. Boars have descended from the mountains into the centre of Barcelona.
Wild turkeys have been roaming the street in California and coyote were spotted in the empty streets in San Francisco.
Elsewhere, hungry animals have been found roaming streets in search for food. Herds of sika deer have left Japan’s Nara Park in search of food in nearby villages and hordes of monkeys have been seen scavenging bins in the Thai city of Lopburi.
Many communities are also reporting increased bird song thanks to the reduction in air and noise pollution.
Delhi-based author and environmentalist Ananda Banerjee says “Humans and other species vie for the same resources nature provides, which includes space. Animals are territorial in nature and are constantly looking at new areas for shelter, food or a potential mate,” she said.
“With our insatiable demand for development, we have shrunk natural habitats to small islands… we haven’t realised that the animals were always in our backyards, especially towns, which are bordering large swathes of green areas.”
