Fact Check: Was a Malabar civet spotted in India due to the Coronavirus lockdown?

ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is evidently one of biggest threats faced globally. outbreak has evidently put world on hold as various industries have shut down indefinitely. Various major countries across globe have been put on lockdown which has resulted in little to no human activities taking place in once crowded places. As humans around world seem to be in lockdown, animals have found a never before experienced freedom to walk around human civilizations without feeling threatened by humans. Various videos and photos of animals walking around in cities have surfaced on internet in recent days, but various fake videos have also been going around. 

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Claim- 

A recent video claims that Malabar civet was spotted in Calicut town. Malabar civet one of most endangered species in India and hasn't been spotted since 1990s. video claims that less human activity has resulted in return of Malabar civet in Calicut. video has received over 1.6 million views since it was uploed. 

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Rating - False

What is false?

• animal showcased in video is not a Malabar civet, but a small Indian civet. 
• Malabar civets are critically endangered and no sighting of that specific civet has happened since 1990s. 
• Though video is not doctored, it does not show  Malabar civet. 

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Origin

short clip was first uploed on March 26, 2020, and received over nine thousand comments within a few days with over 1.6 million views. People started claiming that sighting of a rare animal like Malabar civet was because of Coronavirus lockdown. People were also quick to claim that as human activities reduce, more extinct animals will walk on earth yet again. same video was also circulated on WhatsApp heavily. Check it out below - 

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Google Trends analysis of Malabar civet spotted in India

fake Malabar civet sighting video quickly became viral on internet. Expectedly, various internet users took to Google and searched for Malabar civet video which resulted in an upward trend on Google search volumes. Check it out below - 

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Image courtesy - Google Trends