Dolphins appeared in the canals of Venice

Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, the situation in Italy is very serious. To date, almost 3 000 people have already died and the whole country is in quarantine. The streets, squares and all the places known to be bustling with life almost 24 hours a day have been deserted. The calm and emptiness of Venice has led to the appearance of… dolphins in the canals, which are usually crowded with gondolas and motorboats!

No one needs to be convinced of the impact of man on the environment. It is shocking, however, that just a few days without tourists and residents were enough for the waters of Venice’s canals to calm down, become clearer and more attractive to dolphins looking for fun. The whole situation also strongly suggests that the Earth without people will soon become a much cleaner place.

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Thought I’d spread abit of positivity for you guys. Since the lockdown of Venice without the pollution from boats the water has been begun to clear up and a dolphin has been spotted in the canal for the first time in nearly 60 years! #venice pic.twitter.com/dbq4mGhfnp

– Jack (@NotLacazette) 17 March 2020

On the tourist trail, Venice is one of the most popular cities in Italy. Usually full of hustle and bustle and crowded, today it shines with emptiness. However, as it turns out, there are also advantages of this situation, because the locals not only can see how the colour and clarity of the water in the legendary canals has changed, but they can also admire the wild fauna, which tempted by the unusual situation, have ventured deep into the old city.

There is a wealth of photos and videos available on the internet and on social media, illustrating the extraordinary situation in Venice. It also gives us food for thought as to how much of an impact man’s everyday existence has on the surrounding nature.

If, a month ago, someone had presented me with a vision of wild dolphins who, in search of entertainment, decided to take a trip into the Venetian canals (filled with clear water, to top it all off!), I would have considered it an extremely surreal vision, probably the result of the ingestion of substances that open the gates of perception that are inaccessible on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the lack of people is conducive. It is an unfortunate realisation that with our actions we are usually not able to change much. However, it is enough for us to be missing and the world almost instantly becomes a better place. Probably not for long, because soon everything will be back to “normal” and only photos will remain of dolphins in the canals of Venice.

Update 19 March, 14.00:

It turns out that the dolphins did not appear in Venice, but in Cagliari, Sardinia, where a mass of photos were taken of them, which then circulated on social media and online diaries suggesting that it was Venice. Nevertheless, Venice’s canals have benefited greatly from their transparency, as the lack of water traffic has meant that all sorts of sediment rests peacefully at their bottom. As a result, you could see fish swimming in them. And although they are not dolphins, it is clear that nature is doing quite well without us…

^{Source: nypost.com}