Coronavirus: South African lions nap on quiet road during lockdown

At the Kruger National Park in South Africa, lions have taken to the road not traveled by humans to have their naps seeing that the roads have not been plied by humans in some time now.

Of course, the lions do not know that the humans are dealing with a global pandemic that is threatening livelihoods.

The Kruger National Park posted photos of the cats lying on the sunlit asphalted road in one of the world’s most famous zoological habitats.

The caption that accompanied the tweet was: “Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see. #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.”

It is not just the lions who have realized that the tens of thousands of visitors to Kruger are nowhere around these days. Hyenas too can be seen loitering but of course, the only thing they fear now is the pride of lionesses who hunt.

This phenomenon of nature taking its own course in the absence of humans from everyday places due to COVID-19 forced lockdowns have been reported across the world.

In industrial cities, smog is clearing from the atmosphere while in other places, water bodies are regaining their clearness. Still, environmentalists have also reported of flora and fauna in some other parts of the world rejuvenating in the absence of human intrusion.

South Africa president, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a state of emergency that forced the country into lockdown from March 27 in order to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in Africa’s second-largest economy.

The lockdown was to last 21 days.

But this week, South Africa’s government extended the period of the state of emergency, but offered a roadmap towards businesses resuming at full capacities again.