Stunning photo of coyote relaxing in Yosemite shows animals living it up without humans
Many animals are enjoying the new space they’ve gained while humans are staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The coyotes at California’s Yosemite National Park, all 1,200 square miles of it, appear to be especially happy.
The park posted a beautiful photo to social media on Monday, showing a coyote relaxing in an empty parking lot that would usually be packed.
“A coyote relaxes in the empty parking lot of the Yosemite Valley Lodge,” the park said. “Does it know most coyotes don’t have a view this good?”
The stay-at-home orders are opening up spaces outside of parks as well. Coyotes were found roaming the empty streets in San Francisco in places they never go, according to McClatchy News. In New Orleans, rats are swarming the streets at night while bars and restaurants are shut down, McClatchy News reported.
At least 316 million people across the country have been urged to stay home, according to the New York Times. All but eight states in the U.S. have stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders.
Yosemite has been closed to all visitors since March 20 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to a park news release. It’s expected to be the longest park closure on record, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Since the park closed, wildlife have explored areas usually overrun by people. The park said in the post that animals have been using roads and walkways more and visiting developed areas of the park.
Park rangers and other officials who still go in and out of the park have told media outlets that wildlife is “coming out of hiding now.”
“It’s not like they aren’t usually here,” Dane Peterson told the Los Angeles Times of the bears, bobcats and coyotes that he and other employees see. “It’s that they usually hang back at the edges, or move in the shadows.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Stunning photo of coyote relaxing in Yosemite shows animals living it up without humans."