'We've never seen this': wildlife thrives in closed US national parks

Guardian ^ | 5-21-20

[SJackson]

Deer, bobcats and black bears are gathering around parts of Yosemite national park typically teeming with visitors

arlier this month, for the first time in recent memory, pronghorn antelope ventured into the sun-scorched lowlands of Death Valley national park. Undeterred by temperatures that climbed to over 110F, the animals were observed by park staff browsing on a hillside not far from Furnace Creek visitor center.

“This is something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes,” said Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We’ve known they’re in some of the higher elevation areas of Death Valley but as far as we’re aware they’ve never been documented this low in the park, near park headquarters.”

The return of pronghorns to Death Valley is but one of many stories of wildlife thriving on public lands since the coronavirus closures went into effect a month and a half ago.

In Yosemite national park, closed since 20 March, wildlife have flocked in large numbers to a virtually abandoned Yosemite Valley.

'Not a mask in sight': thousands flock to Yellowstone as park reopens Read more More than 4 million visitors traveled to Yosemite last year, the vast majority by way of automobile. On busy late-spring days, as visitors gather to see the famed Yosemite, Vernal and Bridal Veil Falls, the 7.5-mile long valley can become an endless procession of cars.

But traffic jams seem a distant memory as the closure approaches its two-month mark. Deer, bobcats and black bears have congregated around buildings, along roadways and other parts of the park typically teeming with visitors. One coyote, photographed by park staff lounging in an empty parking lot under a rushing Yosemite Falls, seemed to best capture the momentary state of repose.

[SJackson]

Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me to be on or off . And ping me if you see articles of interest.

[NormsRevenge]

Maybe we need to have drone zones where you don’t go in the park or protected area but can fly drones to see all of nature’s beauty from above and not pollute it with tourists.

Oh wait, we have channels that already do that, sort of.

Here’s hoping the wildlife enjoy their respite from civilization.

[G Larry]

Sure we have....Planet of the Apes.

The animals are free and the people are caged.

Note: the author believes this is a good thing.....

[redangus]

A green wet dream. If we just get rid of all the polluting humans then nature would go back to it’s pristine state and the world would be a beautiful place. Gee if someone could just manufacture a virus with the contagiousness of the common cold and the lethality of Ebola we could cleanse the earth. Don’t think there aren’t some Greenies thinking about that. This lockdown crap has given them a brief look at the potential of what could be if they could just do it right.

[Bob434]

Here we go- animal rights peeps will demand parks be off limits to tourists now-

[aquila48]

“Note: the author believes this is a good thing.....”

Watch for environazis calling for the continued closure of national parks once the virus is over.

[Bob434]

We share this world with animals- God gave man dominion over animals- Man goes into places where animals are- We’ve built homes and roads, and malls etc where animals roamed- We;ve set aside millions and millions of acres for animals in parks and they coincide with tourists fine- We don’t allow hunting in many areas like that, and so protect animals in these parks-

This world was not made exclusively for animals- it was made to share space with humans- There is no reason at all why folks can’t in person enjoy the presence of animals that are protected in national parks - it’s a unique exciting experience for millions of people around the world-

Sure. we could close off even more millions of acres- billions even, and just let animals breed themselves into dominance all over the world again- but that’s not what this world was created for- animal dominance-

We’re doing a very good job protecting animals in parks, while balancing the public’s desire to interact with the wild and with wildlife- Animals are already thriving i n these parks thanks to the efforts of people- these animals have millions and millions of acres of land to roam, unseen by people- they don’t need more-

[Bob434]

[[Deer, bobcats and black bears have congregated around buildings, along roadways and other parts of the park typically teeming with visitors.]]

Yeah right- golly- they get a few feet more to ‘roam’ around in next to buildings, in an area that already has millions of acres for animals to roam around in unbothered- and the animals don’t have to wait for breaks in traffic to cross one of only a very few roads that run through the park- golly- how cruel of us to get out and enjoy the natural wonders of the world-

[[virtually abandoned Yosemite Valley. ]]

Yeah ok- the park was an virtual animal desert when people were there- yep sure it was-

[married21]

Yosemite valley had people in it before it was ever a national park. They were doing controlled burns and pre-farming techniques that encouraged food growth. If an eco-activist wanted to take it back to Pre-modern times, they would need to repopulate the valley with knowledgeable Miwok people. You can’t take humans out completely or it will not be what it was. Humans are integral to the world. That’s how it is.

[jagusafr]

What’s funny to me is that nobody’s mentioned the fact that these animals didn’t just pop up out of nowhere, they obviously live very healthy lives in other areas and have expanded to fill the now-vacant space.

[NormsRevenge]

I bet you support air dropping rare mountain goats into remote areas, huh? ;-)

I hear ya on enjoying the wildlife. I grew up around all kinds of domestic animals and many wild as well, we used to have moose come thru our fields and deer were common sight.

Then a freeway and developments popped up and cut off old paths. It was tough to see change as good for anyone except the developers.

I guess the one common thing about humans and animals is most are adaptable to their surroundings and they’re often just as curious about us as we are them.

I wish the Yosemite herds a safe and sane summer and enjoy the vacay from humans.. They will be back... too.

[Inyo-Mono]

You nailed it. The Enviros don’t like that kind of thinking.

[aquila48]

And they already had most of the spaces in national parks.

[Bob434]

[[most are adaptable to their surroundings]]

exactly- and in parks- that surrounding is millions and millions of acres of land- the vast majority of it inaccessible to all but the most adventure motivated extreme hiking nature lovers- The park’s roads only show a very small part of the vast acreage in the parks- to the sides of the roads, there are in many cases hunreds of miles of pristine wilderness for the animals to enjoy without running into people-

this is why animals thrive in protected parks- the animals we do see as we drive through the parks are the few that happen to wander near the roads- millions of animals remain unseen their whole lives i n these parks except for when park rangers hike into remote areas to do head counts and such-

[Bob434]

[[What’s funny to me is that nobody’s mentioned the fact that these animals didn’t just pop up out of nowhere, they obviously live very healthy lives in other areas and have expanded to fill the now-vacant space.]]

Exactly- it’s time we beat these healthy thriving intruders back into the vast landscapes they have wandered in from, and give us back our parts of the park lol

Seriously though- you are 100% right- these animals aren’t popping up out of nowhere- they were doing just fine- thriving just fine- elsewhere i n the park- having adapted very well to human presence, or being out in areas where they just didn’t have any contact at all with folks-

opening the park back up isn’t going to result in millions of animals just up and dying because humans have reappeared- there aren’t going to be mile long 10 ft high piles of dead animal carcasses everywhere just because we reopen the parks- The animals will go back into their millions of acres domains again and thrive in life just as much as they always have-

[bobby.223]

Great pic! The ‘Big Furries’ are around up here. Fun to watch ‘em romp around...from a distance!

[PA Engineer]

Deer, bobcats and black bears are gathering around parts of Yosemite national park typically teeming with visitors

They gather around my home in western PA. BFD. Idiots.

[dragnet2]

I’ve seen places like Yosemite just jammed with obnoxious loud tourist with some messing with the animals like they’re there for their personal entertainment and laughs. Now I don’t go to places like that because I just can’t stand this level of human stupidity.

Check this AH out as he taunts some bison to get his kicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W48dYw9SYkM

[GreyFriar]

It’s been there all the time, not just “new” because of no visitors for 2 months.