Emboldened wild animals venture into locked-down cities worldwide
As cities around the world mandate lockdowns,quarantine and social distancing,social media posts about animals frolicking through deserted cities have enchanted people anxiously seeking silver linings.
In Nara,Japan,sika deer wandered through cities streets and subway stations.Raccoons were spotted on the beach in an emptied San Felipe, Panama.And turkeys have made a strong showing in Oakland ,California.
“Normally,animals live in the parts of our cities that we don’t use,”said Seth Mangle,who directs the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. “It makes them an unseen presence ,kind of like ghosts.”Gangs of wild turkeys aren’t an uncommon sight in parts of Bay Area but it seems they’ve got a bit more room to wander through neighborhoods they might not visit.
Quarantine could continue to affect wildlife in an unexpected ways,said Paige Warren,an ecologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.Fewer people in the streets could drive some species away,she said,especially those who subsist on whatever humans feed them - or leave behind in the trash.
That is the case in Nara Park,where the sika beer,-which look like Bambi, have grown accustomed to tourists lining up year-around to feed them rice crackers.Now that the park is devoid of human visitors,the beer have begun wandering into the city looking for food,they’ve been spotted crossing the city streets and walking through subway stations,snacking on potted plants.
In Lopburi,Thailand,the absence of tourists and their tasty snacks left local monkeys brawling over what appeared like a cup of yogurt.
重點詞彙：
embolden,v.使…有膽量
venture,v.敢於冒險，adventure(n.冒險)
mandate,v.下令，指示，mandatory(adj,強制的)
quarantine,n.隔離檢疫
frolic,v.嬉戲，-some(形容詞後綴)
deserted,adj.無人居住的
enchant,v.使入迷，-ment(名詞後綴)
silver lining,n.一線希望，Every cloud has a silver lining.
a gang of,一羣…
subsist,v.維持生活，勉強度日，subsist on
be devoid of,完全沒有…
snack,v.喫小喫
Brawl,v.打架，爭吵