An unusual sight greeted policemen and the few people on the road in Kerala's Kozhikode - a civet taking the zebra crossing.
"This is a Small Indian Civet. Things which I can confirm; Video is real (not animation). Was never posted before Wednesday on Internet. Sources say it is from Kozhikode. It looks sick. Quite possible was in captive & released. It is found there normally also. That's it," Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan tweeted.
The video, now viral, surfaced on social media two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a "total lockdown" for 21 days to halt the spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19 virus.
The otherwise nocturnal animal, with black spots and stripes, was seen walking on the striped road in Meppayur town of Kozhikode in north Kerala.
"They are natural to this place. Just that less traffic makes them walk freely now. This one is following Zebra crossing also," Indian Forest Officer Praveen Kaswan wrote on Twitter.
The species was once common along the lowland coastal tracts of Kerala and Karnataka. In 1999, fewer than 250 mature individuals were thought to survive in the wild, according to a Kerala government website.
With people staying indoors, cities, roads and highways across the country have been deserted since Wednesday as the police are keeping a tight vigil.
More than a billion people in India have shut themselves in after PM Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. Nearly 700 people have tested positive for COVID-19 or coronavirus and 17 have died.
(With inputs from ANI)
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