While under lockdown due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak, Mumbai has found itself inexplicably host to thousands upon thousands of beautiful flamingos which have flocked to the inactive city over the last several weeks.
As the Hindustan Times reported, some 150,000 blush-colored birds have descended upon India’s largest city during their annual migrations — a 25% increase from last year.
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Flamingos have been migrating to Mumbai since the 1980s, but never in such incredible numbers before.
These beautiful birds typically inhabit the area for their breeding and feeding season, which begins in September and lasts until the end of May.
This year, however, locals have been stunned with the sheer amount of flamingos that have turned up in Mumbai.
Experts believe the record-breaking number of pink birds currently bobbing in Thane Creek can certainly be attributed to the dramatic decrease in human activity in the area.
Deepak Apte, director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), told the Times that the outbreak has managed to have a positive effect on the migrating flamingos.
While the waters are usually disrupted by construction work, fishing, and general activities involving people, “the lockdown is giving these birds peace for roosting, no disturbance in their attempt to obtain food, and overall encouraging habitat,” he explained.
Not only are the birds attracting attention for their presence, but they’re also turning heads for their choice of location, too.
With such huge numbers swarming Mumbai, the flamingos have begun spreading out beyond Thane Creek and have been spotted in wetlands and other areas where they typically wouldn’t appear.
“They are being reported from places where they have earlier been reported less in number because there is no human activity there now,” Rahul Khot, assistant director at BNHS, told CNN .
The influx of flamingos has turned the waters of Thane Creek into a stunning portrait of pink, prompting plenty of photos from appreciative Mumbians.
“Residents are cooped up at home spending their mornings and evenings at their balconies taking photographs and videos of these relaxed birds,” one local, Sunil Agarwal, said .
“The lockdown will at least prompt people to focus on what is around them, which they had been taking for granted, and hopefully this site will be declared a flamingo sanctuary soon.”
Flamingos aren’t the only creatures who are benefiting from India’s lockdown.
In New Delhi, troops of monkeys have reportedly been taking advantage of the city’s now-empty streets, and in Mumbai, peacocks have been spotted perched on top of cars, flaunting their elegant plumage.
Perhaps most spectacularly, around 40 endangered Gangetic dolphins have been spotted back in the Ganges, drawn back to their natural habitat due to the sudden lack of human activity and reduced pollution level in the water.
h/t: Hindustan Times , CNN
