Coronavirus News: Crocodiles Take Over Mexican Beach Amid Lockdown

As the coronavirus empited roads and beaches and waterways, nature has taken over. Such is the case with a popular Mexican resort -- crocodiles have taken over as the crowds retreated.

The beach embracing the lagoon at La Ventanilla in Oaxaca, a designated ecotourism resort on the southern coast of Mexico, completely closed down for the first time in decades, Fox News reported. The crocs have been sunning themselves with no one around to disturb them. Some of them could also be seen enjoying the surf.

The Mexican government ordered all of the nation’s beaches closed in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

In the past, crocodiles have reportedly made their way into human dwellings in the region. They were also held responsible for an attack on a sleeping fisherman in November. Their takeover of the beaches at La Ventanilla, though, is the first such event in decades.

The coronavirus lockdown has reportedly led to clear water on the Venetian canals and sightings of fish, according to NBC. Christopher Jones, lead developer for the CoolClimate Network, an applied research branch of the University of California, Berkeley, was quoted by NBC as saying this could be one of the positive outcomes of the pandemic. Satellite images have shown how harmful emissions have decreased since lockdowns have started.

Experts did warn that these reductions are temporary. Once the lockdowns are lifted, cities and countries will bounce back—so will the normal, everyday rush that produces these emissions, unless societal change or infrastructure adjustments are made to keep everything as they are under quarantine conditions.