Animals start exploring deserted streets amid coronavirus lockdown

The citizens of a suburban town of Paris have been shocked after witnessing a zebra and two horses running into deserted streets amid ongoing lockdown due to coronavirus.

A video showed the animals running in the street of a neighbouring town of Champigny-sur-Marne on the outskirts of Paris alongside moving traffic.

According to a report published by Dailymail UK, the animals were escaped from a zoo in Ormesson-sur-Marne after the gate to its enclosure was left open on Friday evening.

The latest footage came forth after a clip of two wild deer wandering the streets of Boissy-Saint-Leger on April 12 also emerged.

The creatures explored the newly-deserted area amid the coronavirus lockdown.

In the first clip, a driver films himself passing a horse before approaching the zebra from behind.

As he follows the beast, he exclaims: ‘Oh wow, feels like we’re in Kenya. This is a safari.’

Owner of the Badin circus Monsieur Moulot believes someone intentionally opened the enclosure to free the animals.

He told HuffPost: ‘It was around 9:30 pm. The animals live in a park during the day, then in their trailer at night. There they were in their little enclosure outside, which has been opened.’

He said the animals were out for around 15 minutes before returning to the zoo.

In the clip of the deer, the animals roam the streets of Boissy-Saint-Leger while its residents remain inside due to the country-wide lockdown.

France’s total death toll from the coronavirus epidemic, including those who have died in nursing homes, now stands at 14,393, the health ministry said.

According to the commune mayor Regis Charbonnier, the deer belong to the Chateau du Piple which has around a hundred of them.

Mr Charbonnier said: ‘It is not uncommon to see them crossing the road at night but never in the middle of the day and in the centre of the town. It’s quite exceptional!’

A third video showed a basking shark – the second biggest shark in the world – swimming with its mouth open at the Port of Brest in the north-western French department of Brittany.

Reports said the shark was 13 feet long.

According to local media, the shark’s appearance in the port was helped by the high tides and decrease in port activity due to the lockdown.