A dolphin jumping from clear blue water

The Dolphins Have Returned to Italy / Nature Is Healing

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Updated Dec 18, 2020 at 11:55AM EST by Matt.

Added Apr 09, 2020 at 11:24AM EDT by Matt.

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About

The Dolphins Have Returned to Italy, also known as Nature is Healing, is an image macro series featuring jokes about reports of dolphins swimming in Italian waters following the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus, indicating nature's flourishing in humanity's absence because of a lack of pollution. After these reports went viral in March 2020, a series of memes comparing "dolphins returning to Italy" to absurd returns in other countries associated with that country's culture.

Origin

In March 2020, following Italy's lockdown over the coronavirus, some began posting on social media about the natural world thriving without human interference. One of the earliest includes a post by Twitter user @ikaveri. On March 16th, 2020, they tweeted,[1] "Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic – the water's flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned." Within one month, the tweet received more than 1 million likes and 281,000 likes (shown below).


Kaveri 3 @ikaveri Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic - the water's flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned. 2:10 PM · Mar 16, 2020 · Twitter for Android

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The following day, Twitter user @b8taFPS shared videos of dolphins in Venice, Italy. They wrote, "Venice hasn't seen clear canal water in a very long time. Dolphins showing up too. Nature just hit the reset button on us." The tweet received more than 1.1 million views, 37,000 likes and 12,000 retweets in less than one month (shown below).

On March 20th, Facebook user dw.euromaxx posted the video "Dolphins have returned to Sardinia's coast." The video received more than 15,000 views, 825 reactions and 180 shares in less than one month (shown below).



On March 20th, the fact-checking website Snopes [2] rated the claims that "dolphins have returned" a "mixture. They wrote:

What's True
Dolphins and swans were indeed spotted in some of Italy's waterways after the nationwide lockdown was imposed.

What's False
Dolphins and swans swimming in Italy's waterways were not necessarily new phenomena related to reduced human activity during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Days later, parodies of the reports began appearing on Reddit. On March 23rd, Redditor[3] treefood3 posted a meme that shows dolphins in the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada. They wrote, "Because of lack of pollution in Ottawa, the dolphins have returned to Rideau Canal." The post received more than 2,400 points (95% upvoted) in less than one month (shown below, left).

On April 4th, Redditor[4] xXxD02AVIDxXx posted a parody of the account that shows extraterrestrials "returning" to Egypt to complete the pyramids, referencing the conspiracy theory that ancient aliens built monuments in Egypt. They captioned the image, "The dolphins have returned to Italy. Meanwhile in Egypt." The post received more than 44,000 points (97% upvoted) and 230 comments in less than one week (shown below, center).

The following day, iFunny [5] user _KingWiggler_ posted an illustration of Big Foot walking in the wilderness. They captioned the image, "Dolphins have returned to Italy! Meanwhile in Canada." The post received more than 83,000 reactions and 700 comments in less than one week (shown below, right).


BECAUSE OF LACK OF POLLUTION IN OTTAWA, THE DOLPHINS HAVE RETURNED TO THE RIDEAU CANAL Dolphins have returned to Italy! Meanwhile in Egypt : AJJW ARTEJLA RU Dolphins have returned to Italy! meanwhile in Canada:

Various Examples


due to low human activity, the jotaros are returning to their natural habitat Dolphins have returned to Italy. Meanwhile in sewing kits: 1TODUE HODU Regal Tuveuntes DANISH BUTTER COOKIES BISCUITS AU BEURRE MZ Dolphins have returned to Italy Meanwhile in Chernobyl:
Dolphins have returned to Italy Meanwhile in Japan Dolphins have returned to Italy !! (1.redd.it) submitted 3 days ago by arjun_aditya ® INFECTED O 5 comments share save hide give award report crosspost Meanwhile on Reddit : Dolphins have returned to Italy! Dolphins have returned to Italy Dolphins have returned to Italy! meanwhile in Scotland: Meanwhile in Egypt: Meanwhile in Japan wajunaditya Day 14: Dolphins started to return in 'Italy. Dolphins return to Venice canals Meanwhile in Scotland: Day 69 in Germany: Italy: "Dolphins start to return* Dolphins return to Venice due to Italia:Dolphins are Back in Venice Cononavirus Meanwhile in Egypt: Mearwhile in Scotand: meanwhile in Scotland: Dolphins have returned to Italy Meanwhile in Bikini Bottom: SHO BANK made with pickles


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