Heartwarming video shows a police officer patiently feeding a banana to a monkey with no hands

If there ever was a time to be empathetic to all living beings, this is it. With the pandemic forcing humankind to pump the breaks on our "usual" lives, stray animals have been left to fend for themselves on the streets with no source of food in sight. While we try to curb the spread of the virus, find a vaccine for it, try to help individuals heavily hit by the economy's fall, come up with a solution for the said fall that wouldn't cost lives, etc. there are some who are also focusing their time and energy on caring for these helpless animals.

One police officer in India recently went viral on social media after a video of him patiently feeding to banana to a monkey without hands was shared on Twitter. The video shared by Twitter user Khushboo Soni begins with the officer—wearing a face mask—holding a peeled banana to the monkey seated beside him while speaking on the phone. The incident, which appears to have been captured on camera at a police station, has won the hearts of people across social media platforms, with many praising the policeman for setting such a heartwarming example of humanity.

The 27-second-long video struck a chord with internet users who were astounded by the camaraderie between the monkey and the unidentified policeman. There's clearly an understanding between the pair as the second half of the video shows the officer getting off the phone to peel the banana a bit further for his furry friend. Some pictures make u want to do more than just a like RT or comment. This is that. The cop sure isn't posing, it's genuine. He is probably on a short break & sharing his snack, wrote Twitter user @imranshriff.

That’s so sweet of him feeding a helpless being, thank you so much, tweeted @DhondupNamgyal while @RahulJGautam wrote: Hats off to the policeman. Real image of humanity. Across India, stories of concerned animal lovers feeding strays have made headlines as even amid the lockdown, many have been looking out for the welfare of their furry friends on the streets. According to The Hindu, a woman in the southern city of Chennai, India has been feeding over 100 stray dogs in her area every day since the lockdown was imposed by the government. Radhika Kasturirangan, who'd already been feeding stray dogs before the pandemic, revealed that the number of hungry canines on the road has increased in recent weeks.

"I’ve been regularly feeding around 60 stray dogs in and around Gandhinagar. Now, with the lockdown, there are at least 30 to 40 dogs additionally that I ensure are fed every day in the evening," she said. Kasturirangan's days begin early at an animal shelter where she's a coordinator. Following her work there, she sets off in the evening at around 5 p.m. with a bucket of food for stray dogs. "The dogs now know the sound of my two-wheeler and often come running to greet me. There is no one on the streets in the evenings and I take adequate precautions by wearing a mask and gloves," she said.

Kasturirangan believes the unfamiliar dogs in the neighborhood may have wandered over from nearby areas in search of food as public places that used to be packed with crowds are now empty. She spends over three hours every evening feeding almost 100 dogs. "The food is prepared and kept in buckets which I leave at home. I come back to take the buckets as the food gets over since I can’t transport everything at once on my two-wheeler," she said.