A Troop Of Monkeys Teaches Social Distancing In Kiren Rijiju's Pic

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a picture that he hailed as the perfect example of social distancing. Captured in Arunachal Pradesh, the photograph shows a troop of monkeys sitting in two straight rows across an empty road. The monkeys are all seen sitting at some distance away from one another, embodying the principles of social distancing that health authorities say is crucial to contain the spread of coronavirus. 

In the picture, a man is seen offering bananas and watermelon slices to the well-behaved monkeys. While some members of the troop are seen holding fruit, others seem to be patiently waiting their turn. 

"A perfect #SocialDistancing seen near Bhalukpong in Arunachal Pradesh along Assam-Arunachal boundary," wrote Mr Rijiju, 48, while sharing the image. "If we observe carefully, animals can teach us many vital lessons that we may have missed in the haste of our normal daily lives."

A perfect #SocialDistancing seen near Bhalukpong in Arunachal Pradesh along Assam-Arunachal boundary. If we observe carefully, animals can teach us many vital lessons that we may have missed in the haste of our normal daily lives.
(Picture taken by Arup Kalita, Tezpur) pic.twitter.com/5iIr8SELUz

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 28, 2020

The photograph has collected over 4,000 'likes' since being posted online, along with dozens of comments. It has also been widely shared on social media, with many marvelling at the clever monkeys.

On Twitter, many praised the pic for teaching a lesson in social distancing:

Even they knows about social distancing, n how to maintain it

— Tina (@TinaRoy92936164) April 28, 2020

Need to circulate this to all the hotspots & containment zones so that along with testing and contact tracing, social distancing becomes the new norm ..

— Nikhil Arora (@ExtrovertNikhil) April 28, 2020

According to the World Health Organization, social distancing involves maintaining a distance of 3 feet between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing to stop the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. "When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease," the agency explained on its website.

The principles of social distancing are now being adopted across the world, where people have been asked to self-isolate at home or maintain distance in queues, restaurants and other public places when stepping out.