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Viral YouTube video shows golden eagle trying to snatch toddler in Montreal park. Is it real or fake?
The GazetteDecember 19, 2012
Still from a YouTube video showing a golden eagle grabbing a toddler in a Montreal park. micbergsma wrote: 'Crazy! I asked the person who filmed this to let me post it on my channel to show subscribers'
Photograph by: micbergsma , YouTube
MONTREAL - Video footage of what appears to be a child being snatched and then dropped by a large bird on Mount Royal has gone viral on YouTube.
The video, posted by someone using the name "Mr. Nuclear Cat," has drawn more than 3.9 million hits since it was posted on Tuesday, Dec. 18.
Is it real or is it a fake?
Various indicators quickly surfaced that undermined the authenticity of the brief clip.
On CBC Radio Wednesday morning, bird expert David Bird called the incident a hoax.
He said the image is of an osprey, not an eagle, contrary to how the video is labelled.
Gilles Chiasson, a spokesperson for Quebec wildlife experts in the provincial environment and natural-resources department, said that at first view "it's unbelievable."
"Unless we have proof to the contrary," he added, "there's nothing to prove that it was a real incident."
"We are not in a position to say where it comes from," Chaisson added of the YouTube clip:
"And there is no indication when it was taken."
"They are saying (the video was shot on) Mount Royal. But they can say anything."
"For the time being, there are no elements that permit us to say that this is real."
Others weighed in as well, notably a round-up item on the Gawker website listing several so-called "tells" on the video.
During the sequence, the Gawker item noted, the bird's shadow disappears and reappears.
It called this one of several signs of flawed computer-generated imaging.
Another indicator is that this is the only video on YouTube attributed to "Mr. Nuclear Cat," and was uploaded on a freshly created account.
Judge for yourself.
The GazetteDecember 19, 2012
Still from a YouTube video showing a golden eagle grabbing a toddler in a Montreal park. micbergsma wrote: 'Crazy! I asked the person who filmed this to let me post it on my channel to show subscribers'
Photograph by: micbergsma , YouTube
MONTREAL - Video footage of what appears to be a child being snatched and then dropped by a large bird on Mount Royal has gone viral on YouTube.
The video, posted by someone using the name "Mr. Nuclear Cat," has drawn more than 3.9 million hits since it was posted on Tuesday, Dec. 18.
Is it real or is it a fake?
Various indicators quickly surfaced that undermined the authenticity of the brief clip.
On CBC Radio Wednesday morning, bird expert David Bird called the incident a hoax.
He said the image is of an osprey, not an eagle, contrary to how the video is labelled.
Gilles Chiasson, a spokesperson for Quebec wildlife experts in the provincial environment and natural-resources department, said that at first view "it's unbelievable."
"Unless we have proof to the contrary," he added, "there's nothing to prove that it was a real incident."
"We are not in a position to say where it comes from," Chaisson added of the YouTube clip:
"And there is no indication when it was taken."
"They are saying (the video was shot on) Mount Royal. But they can say anything."
"For the time being, there are no elements that permit us to say that this is real."
Others weighed in as well, notably a round-up item on the Gawker website listing several so-called "tells" on the video.
During the sequence, the Gawker item noted, the bird's shadow disappears and reappears.
It called this one of several signs of flawed computer-generated imaging.
Another indicator is that this is the only video on YouTube attributed to "Mr. Nuclear Cat," and was uploaded on a freshly created account.
Judge for yourself.
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