The coronavirus has upended our way of life – but it's also having dramatic repercussions on animals across the globe, too, from black rhinos being poached in Botswana to a coughing tiger in New York and emboldened goats on the streets of Wales.
Global wildlife trade is in the spotlight. The pandemic is thought to have emerged at a market selling wild animals in China, calling attention to the global wildlife trade. The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society is encouraging governments to ban live animal markets, and terminate illegal trafficking and poaching of wild animals.
Zoo animals are getting sick and feeling the absence of human attention. The coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning it jumped from animals to humans. Now, it seems to be jumping back. A tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for the coronavirus. It is thought the tiger, named Nadia, along with six other big cats, were infected by an asymptomatic zookeeper. The cats have been showing symptoms, including a dry cough, since late March.
With humans self-isolating in their homes, animals that usually stay away from urban areas now have space to roam. In northern India, a herd of deer was caught on camera walking the streets of Haridwar during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. Also in India, there's been a massive spike in the number of baby Olive Ridley sea turtles, as beaches lie empty of humans. It's thought that around 60 million eggs have been deposited on Indian beaches this year. Meanwhile, wild boar have been spotted in the
Finally, although we focus here on wildlife the coronavirus, first and foremost is a human tragedy, disrupting lives and killing far too many people. Society's priorities must be human health and the containment of the pandemic, but we also need to be thinking ahead to the wellbeing of animals.
Writer: Tiana Bijlani
24/06/2020
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