Earth and Leatherback Turtles Take Much Needed Break Due to COVID-19

COVID19 has sickened almost 4 million and killed almost 300,000 worldwide. The Wuhan coronavirus has affected the world economy and the daily lives of people across the globe. With no vaccine available yet, humanity sits in fearful limbo.

Humanity may be suffering from the COVID19 outbreak but it has given mother Earth the much needed rest. While people around the world are locked up in the comforts of their homes to avoid catching Wuhan coronavirus, Mother Nature is slowly rebooting and regenerating.

While everything is slowed down; factories closed, limited public transportation, and minimal human activities, all these gave positive effects to the environment. With decreased pollution and improved environmental quality, animals started to reclaim their territory including the Leatherback turtles.

Leatherback turtles are considered endangered in Thailand and are on the global list of vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Leatherback turtles lay their eggs in quiet areas, but were very impossible to happen when tourists’ locals and internationals alike crowd the beach all the time. And the worst, people have been known to steal leatherback turtles’ eggs.

According to The Guardian, 11 nests of Leatherback turtles were found on one beach in Thailand. It is said to be the largest record of nests in the last 20 years. It is, in fact, the first in Thailand in the last 5 years according to Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, Phuket Marine Biological Center’s director.

The global lockdown may have forced people to stay in their homes and prevented them from venturing into their daily routines, but the lockdown enabled animals to come out and flourish. The risk of leatherback sea turtles of getting killed and endangered is lower. Less human presence on the beach also means fewer disturbances and less pollution. Marine life and female leatherback sea turtles can lay more eggs and do the cycle again.

Mother Nature is thriving amidst the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. When this all is over, hopefully, humanity will learn to care for our planet. After all, this is the only planet that we have.