Glimpse of wildlife on Pondy streets during lockdown

Puducherry, Apr 11 (PTI): With the COVID-19 lockdown in force here, it's not the citizens who have been violating the regulations by stepping out of their homes- it's the wildlife - a troop of monkeys which had come out of nowhere to invade the roads in the former French colony. The now-quiet, deserted streets were full of monkeys running about, much to the amusement of children confined to the four walls of their houses, as schools and colleges have been shutdown ever since the lockdown was brought into effect.

With the roads empty of vehicles, there was nil noise pollution and public movement, this could have attracted the wild animals to explore the human habitats. Some residents, upon spotting the chatter of monkeys which are commonly seen on tree tops, hurled bananas onto the roads and the simians had their fill before going about their way.

A few residents said besides monkeys, birds of all kinds and shapes invaded the usually-congested arterial roads of Puducherry. The commonly spotted house sparrows and the ubiquitous crows have arrived on the territorial roads taking advantage of nil-human movement in the streets..