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    Wild animals have taken over the streets in major cities because of the coronavirus pandemic

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    The coronavirus pandemic has left most of the world’s major cities, including London, New York and others, empty. As humans hunker down, with shelter-in-place measures around the world enacted, wild animals have started to take over.

    Several pictures taken by photographers around the world show all types of mammals, including deer, goats and others roaming through the streets and communities, unabated.

    A herd of deer decided to rest in a housing estate in Harold Hill, Romford, east London. (SWNS)

    In London, a herd of deer was spotted resting in a housing state in Harold Hill, Romford. Earlier this week, images of London went viral, showing what used to be bustling places, such as the London Eye, Chinatown, Borough Market and the National Gallery, completely empty.

    In Nara, Japan, deer were spotted walking around a shopping area. Approximately 100 deer were seen walking around the city. They are usually fed by tourists, but they have ventured further into the city to look for food.

    A young boy rides his bike past a deer wandering around the shopping area in Nara, Japan, Thursday, March 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

    In Llandudno, Wales, several mountain goats were spotted roaming the streets on March 31. The goats, who occasionally visit the town to be fed by tourists, were drawn by the lack of people, a local counselor told the BBC.

    LLANDUDNO, WALES – MARCH 31: Mountain goats roam the streets of LLandudno on March 31, 2020 in Llandudno, Wales. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

    Fox News previously reported that hordes of starving monkeys were spotted in the streets of Thailand, as fighting over food scraps, due to the pandemic.

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    Other cities have also seen an influx of animals infiltrating areas where humans once gathered in significant numbers, according to Yahoo:

    • Spotted deer were seen wandering along a road in the city of Tirupati, India.
    • Wild boars were seen throughout northern Italy, including one mother walking through empty streets with her offspring in Bergamo. 
    • A number of wild boar have also been seen in parts of Paris.
    • Several puma were seen walking around the streets of Santiago, Chile, after the country’s Agricultural and Livestock Service said they came down from the mountains in search of food. 

    As of Friday morning, more than 1 million coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, more than 245,00 of which are in the U.S., the most impacted country on the planet.

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    Mountain goats use coronavirus lockdown to take over Welsh town, video shows

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    A gang of mountain goats descended on a town in Wales this week as residents hunkered down indoors, on lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

    But the herd has defied all social distancing orders, marauding into the seaside town of Llandudno in North Wales several times in the past week.

    CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

    Andrew Stuart, a video producer for the Manchester Evening News, has chronicled the escapades of the furry visitors in photos and video posted on  Twitter.

    A herd of goats walk the quiet streets in Llandudno, north Wales, Tuesday as residents quarantine indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Pete Byrne/PA via AP)

    “I, for one, welcome our new goat overlords,” Stuart tweeted, along with a close-up photo of one visitor sticking its head up through a bush it was enjoying for lunch.

    The goats, which normally live on a vast headland near the sea called the Great Orme, have taken advantage of the lack of people and cars to roam into the seaside town. They have been pictured strolling the empty streets, clambering up stone walls and feasting on the leaves of residents’ neatly trimmed trees and bushes.

    CORONAVIRUS DOESN’T STOP OCTOGENARIAN COUPLE FROM MEETING AT DANISH-GERMAN BORDER AMID LOCKDOWN

    “There’s no one around at the moment, because of the lockdown, so they take their chances and go as far as they can,” Stuart told the Associated Press on Tuesday from his parents’ pub in Llandudno, where he is waiting out the pandemic. “And they are going further and further into the town.”

    Goats have been spotted eating from bushes and trees in the town. (Pete Byrne/PA via AP)

    The United Kingdom remains on lockdown.

    The goats appear to still be wary of people, according to Stuart, but the long-horned animals are taking their chances.

    “And I think because it’s so quiet, and there’s hardly anyone around to scare them or anything, that they just don’t really care and are eating whatever they can,” he said.

    Stuart said he first spotted the goats from his parents’ pub last week nibbling on some bushes for a midnight snack. He said he even called the police, who chased the herd back to the Orme.

    But the goats returned. Stuart tweeted that they were “gathering in groups of more than 2.”

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    “They run Llandudno now and we just have to accept that as fact,” he wrote.

    Coronavirus could be catastrophic for great apes, experts warn

    This photo taken on June 29, 2015 shows the feeding of chimpanzees from Monkey Island, a celebrated colony of former research lab captives on an atoll deep in the jungle of southern Liberia. (Credit: ZOOM DOSSO/AFP via Getty Images)
    (Getty Images)

    The coronavirus, having now traveled the globe and claimed over 23,500 human lives, might also pose a threat to great apes, experts warned.

    Great apes are our closest relatives and the species which make up this group — including bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees — are endangered. Though we don’t share the same language or society, we share about 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees, Live Science previously reported. And, it seems, we have another unfortunate similarity: our susceptibility to the same respiratory illnesses.

    It’s known that “transmission of even mild human pathogens to apes can lead to moderate-to-severe outcomes,” conservation experts from the Great Ape Health Consortium wrote in a letter published Tuesday (March 24) in the journal Nature.

    Related: 13 coronavirus myths busted by science

    It’s not known, however, whether the coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, will affect apes as it does humans. “As leading experts in the conservation and health of these animals, we urge governments, conservation practitioners, researchers, tourism professionals and funding agencies to reduce the risk of introducing the virus into these endangered apes,” the experts wrote.

    Great-ape tourism should be suspended and field research should be reduced, they wrote. However, this must be done while still assessing risks. “For example, poaching could rise with fewer people in the vicinity,” they wrote.

    Some countries, such as Gabon and Rwanda, have already stopped tourism and both flight cancellations and border closures have reduced travel to those regions, according to The Washington Post.

    Though it’s not yet clear, “at this point, it is safest to assume that great apes are susceptible to SARS CoV-2 infection,” representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission Health Specialist Group and the Primate Specialist Group wrote in a statement. “It is strongly recommended that great ape visitations by humans are reduced to the minimum.”

    Essential staff who can’t completely isolate from the apes need to stay at least 7 meters (23 feet) away from them, but 10 meters (33 feet) is “strongly advised,” they wrote. No one who is ill or who has been in contact with an ill person in the last 14 days should be allowed to visit the animals, they wrote.

    People can reduce the risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus to great apes by adhering to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s book called the “Best-practice guidelines for health monitoring and disease control in great ape populations,” the experts wrote in the letter.

    Some of these recommendations include wearing clean clothing and disinfecting footwear before going anywhere near the animals. Transmission can also be reduced by requiring face masks be worn by anyone coming within 10 meters (33 feet) of the animals.

    Originally published on Live Science.

    Pangolins can carry coronavirus-related strains, scientists say

    What is a pangolin?

    FoxNews.com: Will this creature go extinct before most people know it exists?

    Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox.  Sign up here.

    Scientists have identified coronavirus-related strains in Malayan pangolins seized during anti-smuggling operations in southern China.

    The international team of experts says that the presence of the SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses means that pangolins, a species of scaly anteater, should be viewed as a possible carrier in the ongoing pandemic.

    An early, unedited version of the research manuscript has been made available via the journal Nature.

    MORE THAN 100 YEARS BEFORE CORONAVIRUS, THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC RAVAGED THE GLOBE

    The coronavirus first emerged in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan. While scientists have not yet worked out how exactly how the novel coronavirus first infected people, there is evidence that it originated in bats, which spread to another animal, possibly a pangolin, at a “wet market” in Wuhan.

    A baby Sunda pangolin nicknamed ‘Sandshrew’ feeds on termites in the woods at Singapore Zoo on June 30, 2017 – file photo.
    (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

    In addition to selling fresh meat, fish and produce, wet markets typically sell an array of exotic animals and pangolins have already been eyed as a possible host.

    The seized Malayan pangolins could shed more light on the potential role of the species in spreading coronavirus.

    3D-PRINTING TECHNOLOGY BATTLES CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

    “Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin-associated coronaviruses that belong to two sub-lineages of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses, including one that exhibits strong similarity to SARS-CoV-2 in the receptor-binding domain,” scientists say in the manuscript. “The discovery of multiple lineages of pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to SARS-CoV-2 suggests that pangolins should be considered as possible hosts in the emergence of novel coronaviruses and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission.”

    A very rare close up of a wild Pangolin, taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya
    (iStock)

    Experts from Honk Kong University, Shantou University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Guangxi Medical University and the University of Sydney participated in the research.

    Other organizations have also cited the potential role of pangolins in the coronavirus pandemic.

    “A species of Horseshoe Bat is currently the principal suspect,” explained the World Bank in a recent blog post. “The bat likely transmitted the virus to an intermediary host, with an early theory pointing at pangolins, the scaly anteater illegally traded for their meat and scales which are then used for their apparent medicinal value.”

    Human contact with the intermediary host facilitated the final leap of the pathogen, the World Bank noted.

    NEW YORK STATE FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS WITH BLOOD PLASMA FROM RECOVERED PATIENTS

    “The potential Pangolin Effect denotes the unavoidable, disproportionate ending of an avoidable, relatively modest beginning: a virus, present on a natural host in the wild, causes a pandemic by taking advantage of a large chain of interconnected events able to spread it globally,” the World Bank added.

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    The Malayan pangolin, or Sunda pangolin, is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, as is the Chinese pangolin and the Philippine pangolin. The White-bellied pangolin is listed as endangered on the IUCN’s Red List, while the Temminck’s pangolin and the Black-bellied pangolin are described as vulnerable.

    Fox News’ Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

    Pangolins can carry coronavirus-related strains, scientists say

    What is a pangolin?

    FoxNews.com: Will this creature go extinct before most people know it exists?

    Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox.  Sign up here.

    Scientists have identified coronavirus-related strains in Malayan pangolins seized during anti-smuggling operations in southern China.

    The international team of experts says that the presence of the SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses means that pangolins, a species of scaly anteater, should be viewed as a possible carrier in the ongoing pandemic.

    An early, unedited version of the research manuscript has been made available via the journal Nature.

    MORE THAN 100 YEARS BEFORE CORONAVIRUS, THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC RAVAGED THE GLOBE

    The coronavirus first emerged in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan. While scientists have not yet worked out how exactly how the novel coronavirus first infected people, there is evidence that it originated in bats, which spread to another animal, possibly a pangolin, at a “wet market” in Wuhan.

    A baby Sunda pangolin nicknamed ‘Sandshrew’ feeds on termites in the woods at Singapore Zoo on June 30, 2017 – file photo.
    (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

    In addition to selling fresh meat, fish and produce, wet markets typically sell an array of exotic animals and pangolins have already been eyed as a possible host.

    The seized Malayan pangolins could shed more light on the potential role of the species in spreading coronavirus.

    3D-PRINTING TECHNOLOGY BATTLES CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

    “Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin-associated coronaviruses that belong to two sub-lineages of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses, including one that exhibits strong similarity to SARS-CoV-2 in the receptor-binding domain,” scientists say in the manuscript. “The discovery of multiple lineages of pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to SARS-CoV-2 suggests that pangolins should be considered as possible hosts in the emergence of novel coronaviruses and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission.”

    A very rare close up of a wild Pangolin, taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya
    (iStock)

    Experts from Honk Kong University, Shantou University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Guangxi Medical University and the University of Sydney participated in the research.

    Other organizations have also cited the potential role of pangolins in the coronavirus pandemic.

    “A species of Horseshoe Bat is currently the principal suspect,” explained the World Bank in a recent blog post. “The bat likely transmitted the virus to an intermediary host, with an early theory pointing at pangolins, the scaly anteater illegally traded for their meat and scales which are then used for their apparent medicinal value.”

    Human contact with the intermediary host facilitated the final leap of the pathogen, the World Bank noted.

    NEW YORK STATE FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS WITH BLOOD PLASMA FROM RECOVERED PATIENTS

    “The potential Pangolin Effect denotes the unavoidable, disproportionate ending of an avoidable, relatively modest beginning: a virus, present on a natural host in the wild, causes a pandemic by taking advantage of a large chain of interconnected events able to spread it globally,” the World Bank added.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    The Malayan pangolin, or Sunda pangolin, is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, as is the Chinese pangolin and the Philippine pangolin. The White-bellied pangolin is listed as endangered on the IUCN’s Red List, while the Temminck’s pangolin and the Black-bellied pangolin are described as vulnerable.

    Fox News’ Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

    Paralyzed chihuahua able to walk thanks to 3-D printed implant

    Dogs may be man’s best friend, but technology might be a dog’s best friend after a paralyzed chihuahua regained the ability to walk thanks to a 3-D implant.

    Ping, who is 4 months old, was taken to a vet in the U.K. after his owner, Zoe Cekalla, noticed he had trouble walking on all of his legs, British news agency SWNS reports.

    Upon entering the vet, the miniature mammal was referred to specialists who diagnosed Ping with a severe malformation in his neck where the bones did not form properly. This resulted in instability and pressure on his spinal cord.

    A tiny paralyzed Chihuahua can now walk – after it was given a custom-designed 3-D printed bionic implant in its neck. (Credit: SWNS)

    BULLDOG IN ENGLAND GIVES BIRTH TO 20 PUPPIES

    “When Ping was first brought in to us he was depressed and couldn’t walk,” veterinary neurologist John Parker said. “The weakness had progressed rapidly and was affecting all of his limbs. He also had a head tilt and his eye reflexes were reduced. We knew from these signs the problem was localized to his brain or cervical spinal cord.”

    While waiting for surgery, Ping was hospitalized and put in a neck brace. He received the surgery six days later, when 3-D printed 1-millimeter screws were put into his neck to stabilize it.

    Ping the chihuahua pre-op. (Credit: SWNS)

    Now, Ping has returned home and is doing well, Cekalla said.

    “He’s such a tiny little puppy and I was devastated when he became so weak,” Cekalla explained. “The team at Hamilton’s were fantastic and I can’t thank John, Michael and the whole team enough for all their expertise and care.”

    It truly is amazing that my bionic puppy is back to his normal self so quickly,” she added.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    Bulldog in England gives birth to 20 puppies

    It’s been a helluva week, so let’s try to end things on a good note.

    A bulldog in Southern England has given birth to a litter that consists of 20 puppies, reports South West News Service, or SWNS, a British news agency. The births began on March 11 at 7:20 p.m. local time.

    The two-year-old bulldog, known as Cali, gave birth to the litter over a period of more than 24 hours, despite initial projections she would give birth to just six pups.

    Just some of the massive litter that was born with mother Cali. (Credit: SWNS)

    HILARIOUS VIDEO SHOWS LION CUB SPOOKING HER MOM

    Her owner, Amber Rees, said she’s proud of Cali, but notes it’s been chaotic, even with the excitement of so many new faces around.

    “It’s been chaotic and crazy but quite fun,” Rees, a part-time breeder, said. “Seeing all those puppies together has been really heartwarming and sweet — but it does test your patience sometimes.

    “When we first took her for a scan the vet told us to expect six or at most eight puppies,” the 20-year-old Rees added. “That was how many I expected in my head. It happened last Wednesday. I said: ‘Cali looks like she’s panting a bit.’ I was staring at her — and then she just started to push!”

    Mother Cali who had the massive litter (left) with Dad Kongo. (Credit: SWNS)

    Rees continued: “Within two minutes there was a puppy — and they just kept on coming. It got to the eighth one and it didn’t look like she was sIowing down. I was shocked but delighted. She calmed down a bit after the first 12 so we rushed her to the vet.”

    INCREDIBLE PICTURE SHOWS LION CUB LETTING OUT ITS FIRST ROAR

    This was Cali’s first litter, Amber said, and, unfortunately, nine of them passed away (not unexpected), but there are still 11 puppies, making for a joyous occasion.

    “The vet said he was surprised there wasn’t more [deaths],” Amber added. “Cali did well to push out the ones that she did.”

    So what will Amber name the precious pups?

    Just some of the massive litter that was born. (Credit: SWNS)

    “We haven’t decided any names yet other than Bambi, for the last one,” she said. “I thought about going with Disney princesses for the females but after calling one of them Ariel, I decided that it didn’t really suit her.

    “When a new owner buys them, they can rename them.”

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    Baboon moms carry their dead babies for up to 10 days, scientists reveal

    Baboon mothers living in the wild have been observed carrying their dead infants for as long as 10 days, according to scientists.

    A new study by University College London and France’s Université de Montpellier analyzed 12 cases where baboons in the Namibian desert responded to infants’ deaths. The research, which focused on chacma baboons, spanned 13 years.

    MOURNING ORCA MOTHER CARRIES DEAD CALF FOR FIFTH DAY

    Anthropologists noted that baboon mothers carried their dead infants over different lengths of time, from one hour to 10 days. The average length of time was three to four days, they said.

    A Namibian chacma baboon with a dead infant.
    (Alecia Carter)

    “There are numerous hypotheses to explain primate responses to dead infants. Perhaps the strongest hypothesis is that carrying after death is an extension of nurturing behavior,” said the study’s lead author, Alecia Carter Ph.D., of UCL Anthropology and Université de Montpellier, in a statement. “We are not suggesting that the mothers are unaware that their infants are dead, but there is such strong selection on mother-infant bond formation that, once formed, the bond is difficult to break. It’s less clear why only some mothers carry or protect their dead infant, but I suspect that a range of factors influence this behavior.”

    ORCAS PASS AROUND CALF’S BODY IN MOURNING RITUAL ONE WEEK AFTER ITS DEATH, REPORT SAYS

    Researchers think that the mothers’ behavior in these cases is most likely a form of “grief management.” Scientists also observed male “friends,” often the infant’s father, protecting the corpse.

    The research is published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    Other animals’ grieving processes have been in the spotlight in recent years. In 2018, a mourning orca mother in the Pacific Northwest garnered widespread attention when she carried her dead calf for 17 days.

    Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

    Baboon moms carry their dead babies for up to 10 days, scientists reveal

    Baboon mothers living in the wild have been observed carrying their dead infants for as long as 10 days, according to scientists.

    A new study by University College London and France’s Université de Montpellier analyzed 12 cases where baboons in the Namibian desert responded to infants’ deaths. The research, which focused on chacma baboons, spanned 13 years.

    MOURNING ORCA MOTHER CARRIES DEAD CALF FOR FIFTH DAY

    Anthropologists noted that baboon mothers carried their dead infants over different lengths of time, from one hour to 10 days. The average length of time was three to four days, they said.

    A Namibian chacma baboon with a dead infant.
    (Alecia Carter)

    “There are numerous hypotheses to explain primate responses to dead infants. Perhaps the strongest hypothesis is that carrying after death is an extension of nurturing behavior,” said the study’s lead author, Alecia Carter Ph.D., of UCL Anthropology and Université de Montpellier, in a statement. “We are not suggesting that the mothers are unaware that their infants are dead, but there is such strong selection on mother-infant bond formation that, once formed, the bond is difficult to break. It’s less clear why only some mothers carry or protect their dead infant, but I suspect that a range of factors influence this behavior.”

    ORCAS PASS AROUND CALF’S BODY IN MOURNING RITUAL ONE WEEK AFTER ITS DEATH, REPORT SAYS

    Researchers think that the mothers’ behavior in these cases is most likely a form of “grief management.” Scientists also observed male “friends,” often the infant’s father, protecting the corpse.

    The research is published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    Other animals’ grieving processes have been in the spotlight in recent years. In 2018, a mourning orca mother in the Pacific Northwest garnered widespread attention when she carried her dead calf for 17 days.

    Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

    Rare white giraffes slaughtered by poachers in Kenya

    Kenya’s only white female giraffe and her calf have been killed by poachers, officials confirmed Tuesday.

    In a statement, the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy said that the female’s death was confirmed by local people and rangers at Ijara in Eastern Kenya.

    GORGEOUS, MAJESTIC WHITE GIRAFFES SPOTTED, CAPTURED ON VIDEO FOR FIRST TIME EVER

    The giraffes had a condition called leucism that results in loss of pigmentation.

    “SAD NEWS” tweeted Kenya’s Northern Rangelands Trust on Tuesday.

    EXTREMELY RARE WHITE GIRAFFE SPOTTED IN TANZANIA

    “According to images sent in by the community, the giraffe was in a skeletal state after being killed by armed poachers,” the Conservancy said. The female and her calf were part of a family of three white giraffes. Now, only a white bull giraffe remains.

    “This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole,” said Mohammed Ahmednoor, the manager of Conservancy, in the statement. “This is a long term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain. Further to this, the white giraffe was a big boost to tourism in the area.”

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    The white giraffes became something of a sensation when they were caught on video for the first time in 2017.

    Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers