Lockdown is a unique chance to see how human activity affects wildlife

Rewilding efforts have been emboldened by the sudden cessation of everyday life during the coronavirus pandemic. Scientists are seizing the opportunity to learn how best to support our wildlife, says Graham Lawton

By Graham Lawton

WHEN I sat down at my kitchen table at the tail end of winter to write my first column under lockdown, I didn’t think I would still be there come midsummer. That piece was about the health benefits of contact with nature and how to get them in a locked-down world.

I was reminded of this last week during a bike ride with my wife through the still-quiet streets of central London. We swung through St James’s Park and stopped at the lake to admire the pelicans. The sun was shining, the water was …