COVID-19 lockdown reduced roadkill levels drastically, by about 60% by keeping drivers away from the roads, especially highways. Animals crossing roads are crushed to death by speeding cars around sharp turns or sometimes due to lack of control over their speed.
COVID-19 allowed animals to be free, to venture onto roads and into cities. The world celebrated their arrival, by filling up all forms of social media with tags like ‘nature_strikes_back’ and ‘natures_response.’ However, as they came into cities and towns, these animal’s real homes were being destroyed and auctioned off at a rapid rate.
But the grimmest realization was, that animals have gotten used to being on roads, in the city. As the lockdown is getting over in most parts of the world, more and more drivers are getting back to driving. Though they may drive cautiously, smaller animals are easy to miss. Additionally, most animals have forgotten how escape a speeding car, and instead run around on the roads, endangering themselves.
Image Credit: By jjron – Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20014767