Fact Check: Video of tiger walking on the road is not recent, makes a false claim about location

A video of a tiger crossing a road during the night is being shared on Whatsapp as netizens claim that a tiger was let loose on the streets from Macherla to Yerragondapalem Road in Andhra Pradesh. This video is causing worry amongst the citizens in Andhra as the caption shared along with the video requests the general public to beware of a tiger in the state.

FACT CHECK:

Firstly, the viral video has been on the internet for over a year. The same video was shared online with multiple locations last year. Some users identified the location as Wankidi mandal, in Telangana, while few identified the location as Dandeli-Khanapur Road in Karnataka.

This led to forest officials stepping in and denying the rumors. In response to the false claim of the location being Wankidi, the field staff working in Wankidi mandal and the patrolling wing clarified that the video was not from the region. The officials told Telangana Today, “Apparently, some people pick up videos that went viral elsewhere in the country in the past and then recirculate the clips to derive pleasure and to get attention of the public.”

In response to the false claim of the location being Karnataka, Senior IFS officer V Yedukondalu stated that the claim is false and also pointed out that those who provide false information can be booked under IT laws.

The right location was confirmed in August 2022 by the official Facebook Page of Pench Tiger Reserve - Madhya Pradesh, India. The video shows a tiger crossing the road from Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

Therefore, it is clear that the viral video is not only old but also being shared with the wrong location. The incident did not take place in Andhra Pradesh recently, but in Madhya Pradesh last year. Thus, the claim is false.