Update (12 October 2022)
Another video is being shared attributing that the visuals show a Namibian cheetah brought to India is seen killing a deer.
However, a reverse search on the screentshots from the video led us to a YouTube video with similar visuals that was uploaded on 25 December 2021. This indicates that the video is not old and is not related to the Namibian cheetahs that were released into the wild at Kuno National Park by PM Modi on 17 September 2022.
Update (09 October 2022)
Another video that shows an injured man with a leopard lying dead in front of him is being shared with the description ‘Modi ke chite’, attributing it to the Namibian cheetahs that were released into the wild at Kuno National Park by PM Modi on 17 September 2022. The same video was earlier shared attributing it to an incident from Himachal Pradesh.
However, a keyword search on the internet led us to multiple reports published in February 2021, stating that the incident is from Karnataka. Rajagopal Naik, a resident of Karnataka’s Haasan district had strangled the leopard to death when it had attacked him and his family while they were returning home on a motorcycle. These reports can be seen here, here, and here.
Update (01 October 2022)
Another video of a group of tigers eating a lamb is being widely shared on social media claiming that the video shows newly brought Namibian cheetahs eating an Indian lamb. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of newly bought Namibian cheetahs in India eating an Indian lamb.
Fact: The animals seen in the video eating a lamb are not cheetahs at all, they are Siberian tigers. The video was uploaded 9 years ago and shows Siberian tigers eating a lamb at a Zoo Park in China. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE
Upon observing the video carefully, one can conclude that these are tigers but not cheetahs since tigers are huge predators with black vertical stripes while cheetahs have black or oval shaped spots all over the body. We then searched the internet using relevant keywords about the viral video and found that the extended version of the same video was uploaded on YouTube on 24 July 2013. The title of the video says, “Harbin Tiger Park – Siberian Tigers vs Lamb”. The Chinese letters written on the truck reads “Siberian Tiger Forest Park”. It is a Zoological park located in Harbin, Northeast China.
Update (26 September 2022):
Another video of a group of 3 cheetahs hunting a deer is being widely shared on social media claiming that the visuals show Namibian cheetahs which were recently brought to India are killing an Indian deer. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of 3 cheetahs, which were brought to India recently from Namibia hunting an Indian deer.
Fact: This video was uploaded on YouTube on 17 August 2022. Video shows Kisaru, a mom cheetah and her cubs hunting a deer at Mara Ecosystem in Kenya. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE
We ran a reverse image search of the viral visuals and found that the same video was already uploaded by ‘Lemurt Wildlife tours’ YouTube channel on 17 August 2022. The title of the video says, “Kisaru one of the senior matriarch in the Mara ecosystem with her cubs killed an impala”.
However, cheetahs brought from Kenya to India were released into wild on 17 September 2022. We also found that the one of the cheetahs seen in the video is “Kisaru”, a mother of 6 cheetah cubs living in Mara ecosystem in Kenya. Reports about Kisaru can be seen here, here and here.
To sum it up, old visuals of cheetahs hunting a deer in Kenya are shared as newly brought Namibian cheetahs killing an Indian deer at Kuno national park
Published (20 September 2022):
In the context of the ‘Project Cheetah’, under which Prime Minister Narendra Modi released African Cheetahs into wild at Kuno National Park on 17 September 2022, several videos of big cats are being widely shared claiming them as the recent visuals of these cheetahs that were brought to India from Namibia. Let’s fact-check the claims made in each of these posts.
Video 1:
A video of a cheetah meowing is being widely shared claiming it as recent visuals of a cheetah brought to India under “Project Cheetah”. Let’s verify the claim made in the post
Claim: Visuals of a Cheetah meowing, that was brought to India from Namibia on 17 September 2022 under “Project Cheetah”
Fact: The Original video was first uploaded on Tiktok on 25 November 2021 by ‘The wild cat sanctuary’ located in Minnesota, USA. This video shows two 11-year-old cheetah brothers Kitu and Lavani brought from a zoo. Video doesn’t show the cheetahs brought to India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
We ran a reverse image search using the keyframes extracted from the viral video and found that the extended version of the same video was uploaded on Reddit on 26 November 2021. The extended version shows two cheetahs with the title “A bond between two brothers, kitu and Lavani”
Also, the watermark on the video shows it’s a TikTok video from the user “@Wildcatsanctuary”. Taking a cue from this, we then searched on Tiktok and found the original video posted by “The Wildcat sanctuary” on 25 November 2021.
The description reads, “Nothing encapsulates ‘thankfulness’ quite like kitu and Lavani’s sweet relationship”. According their Website, Wildcat Sanctuary is a non-profit sanctuary located in Minnesota, USA. They provide a natural sanctuary to wild cats in need. The website also states that the two 11-year-old brothers kitu and Lavani were brought to their sanctuary in April 2021 from a Zoo. More about these cheetah’s can be seen here, here and here.
To sum it up, old videos of a cheetah in an American sanctuary are being shared as recent visuals of Indian cheetah brought from Namibia.
Video 2:
Another video of a big cat attacking a cow on the roadside is being shared that the wild animal seen in the video is the Cheetah that was recently brought to India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of a newly re-introduced cheetah in India under ‘Project Cheetah’ attacking a cow.
Fact: The animal attacking the cow is not cheetah, but a leopard. The rose-shaped spots seen on the big cat confirms it as Leopard. Cheetah’s have round or oval shaped spots. This video, recorded in August 2022, shows a leopard killing a cow near Ranikhet, Uttarakhand. Also, newly brought cheetah’s under ‘Project cheetah’ will be released in a specially designed enclosure where they will live for a month. Moreover, cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE
By looking at the spots of the big cat in the video, one can conclude that it is a leopard as leopards have rose-shaped spots called Rosettes, while cheetahs bear round and oval shaped spots on their bodies. More about how to identify cheetah, leopard and jaguar can be read here.
Also, according to ‘The Hindu’, newly brought cheetah’s will be released in a specially designed enclosure where they will live for a month. Also, the cheetahs are radio-collared, and their movements will be tracked by a dedicated tracking team. Also, according to the PIB press release, cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.
Further research revealed that the incident of the leopard attacking the cow took place in August, 2022 near Ranikhet, Uttarakhand.
To sum it up, an old video of a leopard killing a cow is falsely shared as newly brought cheetah under ‘Project cheetah’ hunting a cow
Video 3:
Another video of a big cat attacking a cyclist is being shared with the claim that the big cat in the video is one of the three cheetahs that was released by Modi on 17 September 2022. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of a Cheetah released by PM Modi on 17 september 2022 under ‘Project Cheetah’, attacking a cyclist.
Fact: This video shows a leopard attacking a cyclist near Kaziranga National Park, Assam on 19 January 2022. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We ran a reverse image search and found that the same video was uploaded by ETV Bharat, ANI on their YouTube channels on 15 June 2022. The Independent also reported this incident 3 months ago.
According to these reports, the incident took place at Haldibari Animal Corridor near Kaziranga National Park, Assam on 19 January 2022. A leopard attacked a cyclist and knocked him off the cycle, but the leopard quickly disappeared back into the greenery. The man did not suffer any major injury in the attack.
To sum it up, an old video of a leopard attacking a cyclist in Assam is shared as that of attack made by cheetah released by Modi.
