Wandering Rhino Suddenly Chased a Man on the Street of Nepal

The rhino briefly chases a man walking on the same road before losing interest and going on its own way.

A video shared by Indian Forest Services officer Parveen Kaswan shows a rhinoceros walking down a mostly-empty street in Nepal.

The video emerged online amid a nationwide lockdown that has been imposed in the country to control the spread of coronavirus. According to The Diplomat, Nepal announced a week-long lockdown on March 24, which has now been extended until April 15.

Because of the lockdown, the country’s busy markets have been shut down and people have been asked to avoid going out, unless it is for essentials. 

In the midst of this, the video of the rhino ‘inspecting’ the streets with shuttered shops has captured social media’s attention.

The undated video was taken at the Chitwan National Park area, where rhino sightings are common even without a lockdown. The national park has a sizeable rhino population, and the large animals have been known to venture out of forests. 

In the now-viral video, the rhino is seen walking down a road where only a few people are visible. A few seconds in, it briefly chases a man walking on the same road before losing interest and going on its own way. 

In the comments section, he explained that it is not uncommon to see rhinos in the Chitwan National Park area. “Rhino venturing into human habitation is common for all PAs. In India also,” he said. 

The video has collected over 1.1 lakh views and more than 8,500 ‘likes’ since being shared on Monday.