As much as Hong Kong is known for being an urban jungle, you never have to look too far to witness the city’s diverse wildlife.
Sometimes, it’s in plain sight—like this porcupine couple waddling side by side in the middle of a village road, holding up a driver in a car behind them.
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The scene was captured in a video posted Thursday night on a Facebook group called Hong Kong Snakes, where people share sightings of reptiles and other animals.
The video was taken by Thomas Halfden Andersen, who told Coconuts it was filmed near his home at Wong Chuk Yeung Village in Fo Tan around 10:45pm Thursday. In the clip, the thorny creatures are seen walking briskly, their tiny feet hitting the ground and their spikes almost gleaming in the glow of the car’s headlights.
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“It was unbelievable that I was able to take a video as porcupines are usually very shy,” Andersen said. He had seen porcupines around his village a couple times before, but this is the first time that he was able to catch them on camera.
Andersen said he patiently waited for about two minutes before the porcupines baby-stepped off the road, clearing the path for his car to move forward.
“They are following group restrictions, 2 is ok!” one comment in the Facebook group reads, referring to social distancing laws banning gatherings of larger than two.
Another comment read: “Oh wow! look like they are v casually going home after the pub.”
Sightings of the nocturnal animal are in fact common in Hong Kong. They can be spotted on popular hiking routes like Bowen Road, Blacks Link and even the Peak, and in the more rural areas of New Territories like Sai Kung.
Porcupines, which are protected under the city’s Wild Animals Protection Ordinance, have even made their way to a bank tower in Central, and to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
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