During the pandemic, the streets filled with rats. Lockdowns shut people inside their homes, and without bars and restaurants open, rats lost out on some of their preferred food sources. The rodents flocked to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, searching for a meal and a good time. It’s tough to remember, but rats are a form of wildlife. Given that the bubonic plague killed off a third of the world’s population over a few centuries, you could even count them as a pseudo-apex predator. With fewer people going out into the world, rats and raccoons, deer, goats, and coyotes feel more comfortable in urban areas.