As coronavirus restrictions linger on and people staying at home have less and less contact with wildlife, officials are unsure if recent activity, like several mountain lion group sightings, is related to people self-quarantining.

Pictures of three mountain lions wandering through the north Boulder area began popping up on social media over the weekend, with Boulder police confirming they have also received calls about the animals.

Short straw gets to go tell the mountain lions they are not social distancing properly… Taken by reader KB in north #Boulder over the weekend pic.twitter.com/dcl1XzcdJY — Mitchell Byars (@mitchellbyars) March 23, 2020

But wildlife officials said while it might seem like a strange sight related to the emptier streets, increased mountain lion activity in urban Boulder is not unusual for this time of year.

“Mountain lions will follow where their prey resources go, primarily deer, but also smaller animals like skunks, raccoons, and even domestic pets,” said Jason Clay, public information officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “As spring progresses into summer, many deer will move towards higher elevations; in early summer, mountain lion activity in urban areas decreases.”

Experts are still unsure how the quarantine will affect wildlife patterns as a whole, since it is still at its early stages.

“Down the road, we may be able to gather observations and see how wildlife behavior may have, or may have not, changed,” said Clay. “It’s hard to make inferences at this point. We haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary over the course of the last week.”

Fewer opportunities for wildlife and human interaction may not change any general trends, but Clay noted animals usually avoid areas with high human activity.

“Wildlife tends to avoid human activity,” Clay said. “If trails or open spaces are crowded with people, the wildlife will go to areas with less disturbance. If urban areas or open spaces that provide food resources, shelter, or water are quiet, you could see wildlife utilizing those areas more.”

As far as animal rehabilitation, Greenwood Wildlife in Boulder County continues to run operations to try and help the wildlife population.

“In general, we are trying to maintain operations as usual,” said Chelsea Barrett, development manager for Greenwood Wildlife. “We have had to reduce our operations in terms of administrative staff, but we are keeping up with our staff trainings. Unfortunately, at this point in time, we do have to limit our volunteers, but we are bringing in our animal care staff in a regular fashion.”

Greenwood Wildlife is one of many organizations trying to stay open and functioning due to the pivotal role it plays in the community.

“The service we provide is invaluable because we’re the only ones who provide this,” Barrett said. “We’re trying to be proactive about this. We are asking rescuers to remain in the parking lot and our staff is meeting them, in order to promote social distancing.”

In the meantime, pivotal organizations continue to face difficulties when it comes to running their companies. However, organizations like Greenwood Wildlife hope to continue to provide service in the future.

“In order to protect our volunteers and interns, we may have to decrease the animals we take in the future,” Barrett said. “Unfortunately, if we do not take those precautions, we might not be able to care for any wildlife whatsoever. We really think it’s essential to stay open for the wildlife who needs us.”