Flamingos turn wetland pink as, India stays under lockdown from COVID-19 Image Credit: Illustrative purposes

Dubai: A creek in Navi Mumbai, India, turned pink this week, after over 100,000 flamingos were spotted in the area. The video of the birds went viral on social media and tweeps were left in awe.

As people stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus, Nature is taking this time to repair the damages. From coyotes spotted in New York, deer on streets in Japan and now flamingoes in Mumbai, twitter users are reeling from Nature’s marvel.

According to an article by India-based online newspaper publication The Print, the flamingoes were spotted indicate a 25 per cent increase in migration since 2019.

The pink birds were seen in wetlands in the suburbs of Mumbai, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The article sites the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which said that this increase is attributed to “lower human activity in areas such as Sewri, Thane Creek and the Talawe wetlands”. These areas would otherwise see a lot of construction, but are quiet due to the current nationwide lockdown in India.

While it is not confirmed who shared the video first, a video of the flamingos, shared on twitter by Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) of the Indian Forest Service has been doing the rounds, with many others quick to repost the 57-second clip. In the video, thousands of flamingos are seen flying over the water body, creating a flash of pink in the sky. Many flamingos were also spotted in the water.

Pandey captioned the video: “It’s estimated that migration of flamingos in Mumbai suburbs is 25 per cent more than last year, may be due to lower human activity by creating ideal conditions for foraging in the wetlands. It shows why wetlands are important and to be kept undisturbed. #wetlands #birds #migration”

Online reactions:

The video did the rounds on social media and was shared by popular personalities.

Indian politician Praful Patel @praful_patel shared pictures of the bird sighting with the caption: “Beautiful gifts of Mother Nature. A sight to behold, migratory flamingos seen in large numbers at Navi Mumbai.”

Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) chairman of RPG Group conglomerate also shared the same clip from his twitter handle and it garnered more than 35,000 views. He captioned it: “While humans are locked inside, flamingos are putting in quite a spectacular show for the residents … Navi Mumbai!”

People appreciated Mother Nature and urged others to take better care of the Earth, as well as conserve wetlands that are rich in resources.

Tweep @Subhasi74224343 posted: “It is imperative that we preserve all the resources that Mother Nature has provided us with. Otherwise, it will spell disaster, like one we are facing right now.”

Tweep @DhanrajNathwani posted: "Positive effects of #lockdown on #wildlife continue as Pink Flamingos return to #Mumbai in huge numbers. This video captures flamboyance of Flamingos flying into water bodies in #NaviMumbai. A beautiful sight!"

Twitter user @srk1951 posted: “It is such a mesmerising sight to see such huge flocks of the pink guests flying above our wetlands ... But should not they also get used to human beings. We can't remain locked down. We can't survive like this . But then we must protect our wetlands.”

Other wildlife spotted...

There have been several stories in the last few weeks of animals spotted and an increase in certain species of wildlife as human beings are confined to their homes amid coronavirus.