Birds, barring the once-populous sparrow, and quite a few animals seem to have gotten back their mojo in urban areas, thanks to the lockdown.

With pollution levels going down significantly, leading to clearer skies, hitherto unseen birds seem to be expanding their presence. And, with severely restricted vehicular movement, several animals that were never before seen in cities are also spotted roaming around in various parts of the country.

On the prowl

In the wee hours of Thursday, motorists spotted a leopard resting adjacent to the median on the Underpass Road at Mylardevipally here and alerted the police, who in turn alerted Forest Department officials. The leopard seemed to have been injured. Police rushed to the spot and restricted vehicular movement further.

“Beautiful healthy Leopard spotted on the main road at Mylardevipally. Nature reclaiming spaces?” tweeted Swati Lakra, a senior police official.

Before police and other officials, including those from the local zoo, could reach the spot, the leopard moved into a farmhouse. Efforts are on to capture the big cat with trap cages and move it to the zoo. From there, once it’s found hale and healthy, it will be returned to the forest.

Late on Wednesday, a civet cat was spotted at the Fateh Darwaza near the historic Golkonda Fort in the city, causing anxious moments for residents in the area. The big cat, identified as an Asian palm civet, was later rescued from the roof of house in the neighbourhood by a team headed by Syed Asadullah of the Nehru Zoological Park.

The restriction on people and vehicular movement has provided an opportunity for birds and animals to move around freely.

Flamingo show

Farida Tampal, State Director, WWF-India, Hyderabad Office, said: “The 1.5 lakh flamingos in the Sewri mudflats in Mumbai created a buzz. In normal circumstances, hordes of nature lovers and bird watchers would have descended there to watch the grand spectacle — the virus stopped them from the march.”

It is beautiful to see peacocks at the Parsi Colony at Khareghat in Tardeo, Mumbai, says residents. A rhino was spotted on the streets of Guwahati, and a civet cat in Kozhikode. Also seen was the day time nesting of olive ridley turtles in Odisha. Pictures of leopards and deers on the busy Tirupati-Tirumala roads are being widely circulated on social media.

“While leopards and civet cats are known to have been found (even earlier) in and around Hyderabad, news of a smooth-coated otter in Hyderabad is a first-time occurrence,” said Tampal. “This species has never been sighted in Hyderabad before.”

“I have noticed birds like Tickell’s blue flycatcher on a tree in our apartment complex. I have never seen this bird in this area earlier,” she added.

Close to the Tadoba forest range in Maharashtra, tigers were spotted close to water bodies recently. The Ameenpur lake in the outskirts of Hyderabad has seen a surge in the number of birds flocking. The number of flamingos has also gone up significantly.

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