The almost simultaneous sightings of random animals on the loose in different areas prompted Filipinos to reference “Noah’s Ark,” the vessel in the biblical narrative that saved animals from an ancient world-engulfing flood.
A day after two running ostriches were spotted in a private subdivision in Quezon City, a piglet was witnessed by motorists in the northbound lane of the Banilad Flyover in Cebu City on Wednesday.
One of the motorists, Adnan Pacasum, took a video of the animal being chased by men and shared it on Facebook where he captioned it with pig-related emojis: “Kung sa Luzon may ostrich, sa Cebu (naman) may piglet.”
“At first, I thought that a vehicular accident just happened in the area because people were looking down from the flyover until we saw a guy who was running that caught our attention. Then suddenly we saw the pig,” he said to Cebu Daily News, as translated in English.
The report said that the animal “escaped from its pigpen and disrupted the early morning flow of vehicles.”
A cow was also spotted along Iloilo‘s Diversion road around 3 p.m. yesterday.
Bep Chavez, one of those who witnessed the animal, likewise took a video and shared it on Facebook with the caption: “Yesterday: OSTRICH …”
Another Facebook user claimed that she spotted two horses horse in Imus, Cavite.
“Ostrich in Quezon City, Pig in Cebu City, Cow in Iloilo City. Horse in Imus Cavite. What is this? Pokemon Go update or Animal Crossing? #gottacatchemall,” Jacee Uy wrote on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a peacock was also reportedly seen in Alabang Hills in Muntinlupa City.
Facebook user Chico Cabalatungan quipped that the netizens should start a new north versus south challenge featuring the ostrich and peacock.
He also stressed he has insider information that the peacock “is very well taken care of.”
Early this week, two running ostriches shocked Filipinos when they went loose in Mapayapa Village III in Quezon City.
The homeowners association president of the village told ABS-CBN News that they are owned by a resident whose house was “still under construction.”
RELATED: Running ostrich in Quezon City made Filipinos think they’re in Hollywood film ‘Jumanji’
Where’s ‘Noah’s ark?’
The incident prompted some social media users, including accounts of streaming giant Netflix Philippines, motorcycle taxi service Angkas and comic bookstore Filbar’s, to quip if someone could’ve been playing “Jumanji.”
“Jumanji” is a Hollywood film franchise that revolves around the story of a supernatural board game that unleashes elements of the jungle to wreak havoc in the player’s urban reality.
Meanwhile, as the almost simultaneous spottings of other animals took place Wednesday, Filipinos jested that “Noah’s ark” might be around somewhere.
“Hindi kaya papuntang Noah’s Ark yung mga nakatakas na hayop?!” wrote a Twitter user with an accompanying picture of the famous biblical narrative.
“I know someone’s building a Noah’s Ark somewhere,” commented another online user who retweeted a news item that reported on the cow’s appearance in Iloilo.
“So where is Noah’s ark located? I think they’re all headed there,” wrote another online user.
“Minsan iniisip ko kung tinatawag na ba sila para sa Noah’s Ark 2020 edition,” said a Twitter user.
Such tweets led the keyword “Noah’s Ark” to briefly enter the microblogging platform’s top trending list in the Philippines.
It was also reinforced by an online user who informed Twitterverse that “some dude in Kentucky built a ‘life size model’ of the Ark.”
“Given how 2020 has been I’m f**king concerned,” he wrote with an accompanying picture of a huge ark that was traced to the website of Ark Encounter, a theme park in Grant County, Kentucky at the United States that opened in July 2016.
Some online users pointed out that the ark has been in Kentucky for “years” and that it “isn’t a 2020 thing.”
“It’s the same guy who built the Creation ‘Museum’ and he’s been building it for a while. This isn’t a 2020 thing,” a Twitter user wrote in the replies thread.
The Guardian reports that Answers in Genesis, a creationist religious organization, was the one behind the creation of the massive ark that opened to the public in July 2016.
It features a “non-floating exhibition offering both a glimpse into Noah’s life at sea and an opportunity to learn about Answers in Genesis’s theories on how our planet came to exist.”
Meanwhile, the story of Noah and his ark was told in the first book of the Bible, Genesis Chapters 6 to 8.
Christian Bible Reference notes that Noah, a man who was obedient to God, was told to build a big boat and then take his family, as well as all of the creatures, inside while He purges the world of wickedness through a great flood.
The story goes that it rained nonstop for forty days and nights as God decided to rid the world of evil.
By the end of the phenomenon, God promised that He would never release a destructive flood again and then placed a rainbow on the sky as a sign of his vow.