A video that shows three cheetahs attacking what appears to be an impala is being shared with the claim that the incident is recent and shows the cheetahs attacking a deer.
The claim comes after eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia and were released in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on 17 September, in an attempt to reintroduce the animal to the country.
However, we found that the claim was false. We found a longer version of the video uploaded on 17 August on a YouTube channel called 'Lemurt Wildlife Tours', which predates the arrival of the eight cheetahs.
The Quint's WebQoof team has previously debunked several claims that were circulated related to these eight cheetahs. Recently, a video was shared by Samajwadi Party Leader Akhilesh Yadav claiming that it showed the cheetahs meowing.
Another claim was shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's edited picture showing him clicking a picture of the cheetahs with a closed lens.
CLAIM
The claim suggests that the video shows three cheetahs attacking a 'deer' in the Kuno National Park. It further suggests that around 180 deers were released in the park to be hunted by the cheetahs.
The video was uploaded with a caption in Hindi, "जब 8 चीतो के भोजन के लिए 180 हिरण छोड़े गए तो फिर यह 3 चीते 1 हिरण के पीछे क्यों पड़े हुऐ हैं| या यह लास्ट हे 2 दिन में 180 साफ|"
(Translation: If 180 deers were left to be hunted by the eight cheetahs, then how come three of them are behind one deer or is that this deer is the last one. In two days, they hunted 180 deers?)
An archive of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Screenshot/Facebook)
IS THE VIDEO RECENT?
We extracted several keyframes from the viral video and performed a reverse image search on them.
This led us to a video uploaded on a YouTube channel which goes by the name 'Lemurt Wildlife Tours'.
The description of the video said, "Kisaru, one of the senior matriarch in the Mara ecosystem, with her cubs killed an impala." The description mentions that the attack happened on impala, not a deer, as claimed.
The clip dates back to 17 August, exactly a month before the date when the cheetahs from Namibia were brought to India.
At around the 0:22 timestamp of the video, the same background and setting can be seen as the viral one.
On comparing the frames of both the videos, we found the video is the same.
(Source: Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
A shorter version of the same video can be found on their Facebook Page.
Lemurt John Mpaapa, who handles the Facebook page, confirmed to The Quint that the video was taken at Olchorro conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya.
Both these videos identified the cheetah as Kisaru and the location as Maasai Mara, Kenya.
WERE 180 DEERS RELEASED AS FOOD FOR CHEETAHS?
In a report published on 20 September by The Hindu, it is mentioned that the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has denied the reports of releasing chital (a species of deer) brought from Rajasthan in the national park for the cheetahs to prey on.
(Update: The story has been updated to add a response from Lemurt Wildlife.)
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