Coyotes prowl empty San Francisco streets as coronavirus locks down city

Coyotes are roaming streets emptied of people by a coronavirus lockdown in normally bustling San Francisco, photos posted to Twitter show.

“Unexpected things happening, maybe as a result of shelter in place,” wrote Gianna Tobini on Twitter..”My brother just spotted three coyotes in front of my parents' house in San Francisco.”

More than 740,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 35,000 deaths as of March 30, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 143,000 confirmed cases with more than 2,500 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. The United States has declared a national emergency.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a shelter-in-place order closing most businesses and requiring people to stay in their homes for all but essential outings.

Wildlife also has reappeared in other cities around the globe shut down by coronavirus, from monkeys in Thailand to deer in Japan, The New York Times reports.

While the absence of people may be emboldening animals to venture into once-public places, coyotes have been making a comeback in San Francisco since nearly being wiped out in the 1940s, KQED reported.

Coyotes have repopulated urban parks in the city, including the Presidio, Glen Canyon and Golden Gate Park, possibly in the dozens, in recent decades, according to the station. Their numbers now appear to be stable, says San Francisco Animal Care and Control.