covid’s effect on wildlife

Huna Moghaddar Illustrated by Bella Waters

When we think of covid, it all seems to be about us. The number of cases, lockdowns, border closures and restrictions. But have you ever stopped and wondered - what on earth are animals doing when we are all in lockdown?

There have been studies that have shown some wildlife species that are making the most of the empty streets and quiet cities. For example, wild bees are loving the lowered air pollution, which would usually disrupt their ability to smell flowers from a distance. Other wild animals such as big cats, goats, capybaras and even elephants are starting to venture into cities, surprising the locals.

One big advantage of lockdown is how quiet the oceans are. Less boat traffic is definitely a huge benefit to animals such as dolphins and whales. These sea mammals love to communicate with each other, so it’s much easier to do so over longer distances when it's quiet.

Scientists in Victoria have been using acoustic sound monitoring systems to study some of the sounds that Burrunan dolphins make in the Gippsland lakes and Port Phillip Bay. They are able to track much more noise from the dolphins, hearing lots of bubbles, squeaks, squawks, whistles and grunts. It turns out that each dolphin also has its own ‘signature whistle’, according to the ABC. One scientist, Dr Robb, tells the ABC that “there might never be another opportunity like this quiet time on the Gippsland Lakes.” Quiet cities don’t always turn out to be a good thing. Wild boars are taking over the city streets of Haifa, Israel. They’re snuffling for food and scrambling through parks and roads. They were known to make appearances even before the pandemic, but the locals are worried that even after lockdown, they will want to keep coming back in search of food.

On the other hand, nature parks and reserves around the world have seen their native animals breed peacefully without the bustling tourists around. In Divjaka National Park, 85 pairs of curly pelicans are nesting, and in Thailand, a pod of around 30 dugongs were seen swimming around a silent national park. This is great news since dugongs are classified as a vulnerable species that often get caught in fishing nets or suffer from water pollution.

It’s safe to say that we weren’t the only ones affected by this pandemic. It has shown us what sort of life we live today and how we could make it better to benefit the planet. Hopefully we can make the right choices so that when the pandemic does end, we can make sure that the environment is still protected when we merge back into regular life.