简体中文
02:39
For almost two months, the Ardeche Gorge Nature Reserve in France has been without people as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The noise of humans has been replaced by the sounds of birds singing, frogs croaking and the river running. But that is about to change with the easing of lockdown measures on Monday – and staff at the reserve are bracing for the return of visitors.
The president of the Scientific Council of the reserve, Gilbert Cochet, said they have learnt a lot about the wildlife during this time: "These few months of confinement have revealed another Reserve of the Ardèche Gorges that we didn't know about, that nobody knew about, or maybe knew about a long time ago, from the time of Cro-Magnon, but that we had forgotten in any case, and that we were able to find or rediscover. That's so good, that's so extraordinary that we don't want to lose it.”
He added: "Since people are confined at home, they free up a vast expanse of nature that they once occupied. And within a few months, the wildlife began to explore these areas, so to speak, realizing that there was no one left, so it could be occupied up to a certain limit, the limit being people's back garden. Paradoxically, this confinement has allowed us to be closer to the wildlife."
There is a worry, that now the wildlife has got used in the peaceful quiet reserve, the return of visitors could unsettle their "new normal."
Beatrice Kremer-Cochet, a naturalist,said: "During the end of confinement, many people have a very strong need for nature and so they risk suddenly invading not only the gorges, but also other natural environments – the forest, the seaside, and so on. And the risk is that, as a result, the beneficial effects of the lockdown, which has allowed animals to settle quietly and have undisturbed reproduction, will be nullified.”
