Picture released by Aton Chile showing an approximately one-year-old puma in the streets of Santiago on March 24, 2020 which according to the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) came down from the nearby mountains in search for food as less people are seen in the streets due to the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.Andrew Pina | AFP | Getty Images
As people across the world remain indoors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, animals are taking over the empty streets.
Peacocks stroll the streets of Ronda, Spain; a gang of goats wander around a seaside town in North Wales; a puma climbs down from the Andes Mountains into Santiago, Chile; and coyotes trot around San Francisco.
Human presence would typically keep such wildlife from roaming. But billions of people are inside, socially isolating themselves under the direction of health and government officials. Businesses and restaurants are shuttered and the once bustling streets and tourist havens are silent.
While some animals are curiously wandering or enjoying the quiet, others are going hungry because they’ve become dependent on tourists who feed them treats.
For instance, mobs of macaques in Thailand that are used to getting fed by visitors must now fend for themselves. Many have resorted to brawling in the empty streets in a desperate search for food.
Sika deer in Nara Park, a popular tourist destination in Japan, heavily rely on the thousands of tourists that feed them rice crackers. But the park is now empty and the deer have begun searching around the city for food, at risk of getting hit by cars or swallowing plastic garbage.
Trinity Square, in Llandudno, North Wales
Locals look at a herd of goats take advantage of quiet streets near Trinity Square, in Llandudno, north Wales. The gang of goats has been spotted strolling around the deserted streets of the seaside town during the nationwide lockdown.Peter Byrne | Getty Images
A wild deer in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
A wild deer, from a herd used to mingle with and be fed by the local population, roams in a deserted street during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in the port city of Trincomalee on March 31, 2020.STR | AFP | Getty Images
A coyote in San Francisco
A coyote stands by the roadside as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, at Golden Gate Bridge View Vista Point across from San Francisco, California, U.S., April 7, 2020.Shannon Stapelton | Reuters
A wild pig and dogs in the streets of Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
A group of dogs found attacking a pig on the Deserted streets during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India on March 26, 2020.STR | NurPhoto | Getty Images
A jackal in a park in Tel Aviv, Israel
A jackal moves from isolated areas of Yarkon Park to the people’s tracks to seek food after the park become deserted due to the coronavirus in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 7, 2020.Nir Keidar | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Wild dogs in the streets of Kolkata, India
In this photograph taken on March 26, 2020, stray dogs gather on a deserted road during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Kolkata.Sarkar Dibyangshu | AFP | Getty Images
Peacocks walk the streets of Ronda, Spain
Two peacocks walk down a street in Ronda on April 3, 2020 during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.Jorge Guerrero | AFP | Getty Images
Monkeys in New Delhi, India
A group of monkeys sit on a roadside in New Delhi on April 8, 2020. Hundreds of monkeys have taken over the streets around the Indian president’s palace leading an animal offensive taking advantage of the deserted cities as the giant country remains in a pandemic lockdown.Money Sharma | AFP | Getty Images
A Coyote in Los Angeles
A Coyote stands alone Academy Road outside of Dodger Stadium during the Coronavirus Pandemic in Los Angeles on Friday, April 03, 2020.Keith Birminghan | Pasadena Star-News | Getty Images
Monkeys take over sidewalk in Lopburi, Thailand
A woman watches monkeys as they search of food in front of her shop, following significant impact on tourism after the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread, in front of Prang Sam Yod temple in Lopburi, Thailand, March 17, 2020.Soe Zeya Tun | Reuters
Pigeons in Puerto Rico
Pigeons walk on the empty street in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 29, 2020. Puerto Rico is on a mandatory quarantine since March 16th, due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.Alejandro Granadillo | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Sika deer in Japan
A security guard feeds sika deer at a temple on March 12, 2020 in Nara, Japan. Like a number of tourist hotspots around the country, Nara, a popular ancient city where free-roaming deer are an attraction for tourists, has seen a decline in visitor numbers in recent weeks amid concern over the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Some groups of deer have begun roaming in the city’s residential area due to shortage of food partially fed from tourists according to media reports.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images
