Wildlife in Iraqi Kurdistan thrives amid coronavirus lockdown

SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan,— Despite the hardships caused by the novel coronavirus, wildlife across Iraq’s Kurdistan Region has gained new-found freedom.

Wildlife experts and volunteers in Sulaimani have said the lockdown measures largely keeping locals inside have allowed animals including birds to roam freely throughout the area.

“Their fear is gone,” said wildlife expert Mariwan Qadir Rahim.

“Male and female birds sing together. They have their own language to communicate. When it is quiet, the males’ call can be heard more by females…they lay more eggs and this increases the numbers of hatchlings,” he added.

Stray animals have suffered amid the lockdown, however, as food supplies from local eateries dwindle.

Local volunteers have taken to caring for the animals themselves.

Writer Twana Amin has been feeding stray dogs with other volunteers.

“We have been feeding these animals 300-500 kilograms of food every day,” he told Rudaw. “You’re here for 10 to 20 minutes and you see how happy the puppies are.”

“It enriches your soul,” he added.

The lockdown has also inspired local poets and writers, prompting larger discussions on the environment.

“I feel I am in a different world,” said poet Ahmed Mohammed. “A kind of bird comes to my balcony which I have never seen before, even when I was abroad. Where were they before? Where did they come from? Man should always ask himself these questions.”

Earlier in April a large number of birds died in a lightning strike in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Halgurd-Sakran National Park, officials have confirmed.

“At this time of the year, these [birds] migrate from the hot to cold places. While flying towards the Caspian sea in Iran, a lightning strike hit them,” Mohammed Abdulla, an employee at the Halgurd-Sakran National Park, told Rudaw English. “We have so far managed to discover around 150 of them.”

Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, rudaw.net

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