Flamingos are the latest animals to take over as people shelter in place as they descend in record numbers on Mumbai
Sarah Al-Arshani
- Flamingos have flocked to Mumbai earlier than they're normal migration time, CNN reported.
- Last year a record 134,000 flamingos were counted in the area but this year 125,000 had already been counted before the coronavirus lockdown disrupted tracking efforts.
- Flamingos are not the only animals flocking to places as humans stay inside to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
As India remains under lockdown, flamingos are flocking to Mumbai, CNN reported.
Rahul Khot, assistant director at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which monitors the flamingos, told CNN that flamingos typically migrate to Mumbai from September through May.
Take a look at the swarms of Flamingos across Mumbai.
Read the original article on InsiderMany countries across the globe have some sort of lockdown measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as more than 3 million cases have been recorded and over 238,000 people have died.
Source: Business Insider
Wild animals all across the world have been taking advantage of humans being cooped up at home.
Wild turkeys took over a playground in California and goats roamed the streets of a Welsh town, Business Insider previously reported. One flock of sheep even thought it would be a good time to visit McDonald's.
Flamingo migration is not the only environment change Mumbai has seen since the lockdown went into effect, the air quality has also improved.
According to CNN, Mumbai experiences the best air quality "on record" in March.
The metrics came from a recent analysis by IQAir, a global air quality information and tech company.
Some of the areas, such as the Thane Creek and the Talawe wetland, where the flamingos have been spotted in large numbers, usually have a lot of construction and fishing.
Source: Science Times
Apparently, the birds are also spreading to wetlands and expanding where they go.
Rahul Khot, assistant director at the Bombay Natural History Society, told CNN that flamingos in wetlands are a rarity, but they're migrating there this year.
"They are being reported from places where they have earlier been reported less in number because there is no human activity there now," Khot told CNN.
The Bombay Natural History Society said they've already seen a 25% increase compared to last year.
Source: Science Times
Some experts believed that since people are at home and not moving around as much, that created an opportunity for more flamingos to migrate and have access to food.
Source: Science Times
Residents say they're spotting a lot more flamingos than usual, with large numbers of the birds relaxing around the mudflats of Thane Creek.
Source: Science Times
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