With Humans in Hiding, Animals Take Back the World
During lockdowns around the globe, species of all kinds have emerged in areas previously crowded by humans.
It took just a few days of lockdown for baby rabbits to dare to cross once-bustling roads in Christchurch, New Zealand, and less than a week for a puma to descend from the Andes Mountains into Santiago, one of South America’s busiest capitals. In Barcelona, wild boar, a familiar sight for citizens on the city’s outskirts, have made their way into Diagonal Avenue, an eight-lane thoroughfare.
It’s surprising and strange, yes, but also meaningful. Research suggests that ecosystems can rebound with speed once human intervention subsides. A review published last week determined that damaged ecosystems and wildlife can be rebuilt if the right conditions are achieved. Marine ecosystems in particular can substantially recover by 2050, according to the study, led by Carlos Duarte at the Red Sea Research Center in Saudi Arabia.