This 2019 video actually shows a crocodile in a flooded street in India
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 28, 2020 at 11:00
- Updated on September 2, 2020 at 12:32
- 3 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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The video was published here on Facebook on August 26, 2020. It has been viewed more than 748,000 times and shared some 28,000 times.
The 30-second clip shows a crocodile being pulled by a rope on a flooded street. Bystanders can be heard screaming as they watch.
The video’s Urdu caption translates to English as: “After heavy rain, the crocodiles of Manghopir are out. Beware the crocodiles. Share this post.”
Manghopir is a neighbourhood in the outskirts of Karachi. It is famed for its shrine to the Sufi saint Haji Syed Shaikh Sultan, which has a pond populated by dozens of crocodiles.
Heavy rain lashed the Pakistani port city in August, causing widespread flooding that killed dozens and left many homeless. Here is a local report on the damage caused by the downpour.
The video was also shared here, here, here and here on Facebook, alongside similar claims. It was also posted here claiming to be in Sudan.
The claim, however, is false.
A reverse image search on Google using video keyframes found a video of the same scene shot from a different angle, published here on the YouTube channel of Indian newspaper Times of India on August 4, 2019.
The video description states: “Due to waterlogging by the ongoing heavy rains, further incidents of crocodiles entering Vadodara’s housing complexes have been recorded. Following last week’s viral video of a crocodile attacking a dog inside Lalbaug’s Rajsthamb society, a team of rescuers captured another reptile at night from the entrance of a house. Meanwhile, a 10-foot-long crocodile gave a hard time to forest officials at a society in Vadsar. As the water levels rise in the Lalbaug lake, crocodiles come out and enter the housing societies adjacent to it.”
Vadodara is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the Time of India video (L) and the video in the misleading Facebook post (R), with identical features circled in blue, red and green by AFP:
The state-run Sindh Wildlife Department in Karachi also denied the claims in this August 24, 2020 tweet.
It reads: “Sindh Wildlife Officials Hasnain & Naeem, deputed for covering wildlife issues within Karachi city premises rushed 2 shrine of 'Mangho Pir' on news spread on social media regarding escape of sacred crocodile having historical significance with the shrine
The news proved baseless!”
This blog was updated with a link to a similar claim from Sudan
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