No, Video Doesn't Show MP Villagers Bothering an 'Intoxicated' Leopard

The video shows villagers of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh abusing a sick leopard, he was not intoxicated as claimed.

A video showing several men following and bothering a leopard in a forest is going viral on social media.

What's the claim?: The claim states that the wild cat was 'intoxicated'.

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: The viral claim is false.

• The leopard was sick and not intoxicated.

• The video is from Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, and the leopard was later rescued and taken to Kamla Nehru Zoo in Indore.

• The zoo curator told The Quint that the big cat is under supervision and diagnosed with canine distemper.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google and found a report by The Times of India posted on 31 August.

• The report carried a screengrab from the viral video and mentioned that the villagers from Dewas, Madhya Pradesh abused a weak and sick leopard in the forest and also tried to take selfies with it.

• It added that the leopard was found roaming in Iklera village on 29 August.

• The article also stated that the leopard was rescued by Forest teams from Ujjain and Dewas and then transferred it to Indore's zoo.

• News agency The Press Trust of India also posted a byte of Forest Guide official who stated that a team from Ujjain and Indore will be reaching Iklera to rescue the leopard.

VIDEO | Rescue operation underway by forest officials in Madhya Pradesh’s Iklera village after a leopard was found by locals in a dazed state. “A team from Ujjain is reaching to capture the leopard and the animal will be shifted based on the directions of the higher officials,”… pic.twitter.com/NHpS0f1Mx6

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 30, 2023

We also contacted Indore's zoo: We reached out to Kamla Nehru Zoo who told us that the leopard is suffering from canine distemper.

• Canine distemper is caused by a contagious virus and affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems of animals.

• They added that they are trying to keep the leopard's temperature down since only preventive medicine is the solution now.

We spoke to a local reporter: We contacted Antriksh Singh, a local reporter from Madhya Pradesh confirmed to us that the leopard is still alive at the Indore zoo.

Conclusion: A video of a sick leopard being abused in Madhya Pradesh's forest is being shared with a misleading context about the animal being intoxicated.

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