As Mumbaikars stayed in this weekend, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced us into a lockdown situation, the city turned pink with the arrival of migratory flamingos.
On 18 April, news agency ANI reported that a large number of flamingos were spotted at the creek in Navi Mumbai. According to netizens on Twitter, who were ecstatic at the beautiful sight, the arrival is an annual affair. However, this year the number of flamingos was way more than the previous years. Many attributed it to humans staying indoors.
Here’s what netizens had to say:
According to a Twitter user, Ramesh Pandey, an Indian Forest Service official, the migration was 25% more than the previous year. He said that the reason for this might be “lower human activity.”
Another Twitter user specified the location of the flamingos. According to Harsh Goenka, the flamingos were seen near Seawoods Complex in Nerul, Navi Mumbai.
One user pointed out that the annual migration had been delayed this year.
Parveen Kaswan, another Twitter user, however, had a different point to make. He said that the migration of flamingos did not mean anything in the long run. He instead pressed on the need to protect the natural habitat of the species for future. He wrote, “Huge number of #flamingo visiting mumbai means nothing. Till we protect their #habitat for future. This flocking of huge numbers can be due to higher local pollution level also. Which means more algae boom, so food. This can also because of un-favorable condition at other spots.”
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