By Roy Denish.
Wild porcupine video of 7-year-old Swetha Punchandi in Polonnaruwa shows a rare bond with a free-roaming animal she helped save.
POLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka — The wild porcupine video showing a 7-year-old Sri Lankan girl walking through paddy fields with the animal has touched millions online.
The clip can be viewed on YouTube Shorts.
Swetha Punchandi, a second-grade student from a rural village in Polonnaruwa, appears in the video beside the animal. The district is known for lush nature and abundant wildlife.
According to her mother, the unusual friendship began when the family found the young porcupine hiding near their home inside a pile of metal sheets. Local dogs had frightened and injured the animal.
The family treated the mammal with home remedies for several days until it recovered.
“After it recovered, it returned to the wild,” the mother said. “But it kept coming back to visit us. It gradually developed a close bond with Swetha.”
The family says the viral clip does not show a captive animal. They insist they never keep it in a cage. Instead, it roams freely in the forest and returns on its own to visit Swetha.
