A video hailing from our neighbors to the north supposedly showing a golden eagle grabbing a toddler is making the rounds online. The video, which follows an eagle as it circles around a park in Montreal before snatching its human treat, has elicited the attention of YouTube views and media alike.
The video, entitled "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid," was posted Tuesday night and has already garnered 2.7 million views. However, some viewers are claiming that the minute-long video is a fake and a product of CGI (computer-generated imagery).
According to Gawker, there are several reasons that point to the video's falsehood. Chief among those reasons are mounting evidence that the video shows several flaws in the creator's GGI. Gawker points to photographic evidence where the eagle's wing disappears for a bit and where the bird's shadow magically appears and disappears throughout the video.
Further adding to the video's falsehood is this comment by famed bird expert Kenn Kaufman through the Black Swamp Bird Observatory's Facebook, "'A golden eagle tries to snatch a baby in Montreal,' and the video goes viral. But it's faked. Golden Eagle is a scarce vistor in the Montreal area, but the bird in the video is not a Golden Eagle, not anything else that occurs in the wild in North America. This was clearly a setup: using a falconer's bird, and probably a fake toddler for the distance scene. With all the ignorance about nature that's out there already, the last thing we need is this kind of stupid garbage."
Despite claims of deceit, or maybe because of the claims, the video has been viewed 2,732,626 times and has earned 30,333 likes. "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid" has also garnered over 10,000 comments, with new comments rolling in every second.
While the source of the video was believed to be unknown-the uploader "MrNuclearCat" has only uploaded the one video-some on the web are pointing to the Centre NAD in Montreal, which has students participate in an annual "hoax the Internet" exam. According to Canada's CBC News, three students from the 3D technology school have claimed responsibility for the video.
What do you think of the video?
WATCH "GOLDEN EAGLE SNATCHES KID"