Video of wild bears falsely linked to India's contentious Ayodhya temple

A video of a sleuth of bears has been viewed thousands of times in posts falsely linking it to a contentious Hindu temple built on the ruins of a mosque in north India's Uttar Pradesh state. The posts claimed that the animals -- which they said evoked a mythical character mentioned in a Hindu epic poem -- were seen visiting the temple site in the holy town of Ayodhya ahead of its planned inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The footage previously circulated in reports about bears spotted in central India's Madhya Pradesh state. A local forest officer confirmed to AFP that the animals were captured and later released in the reserved forest area.  

The 18-second video -- which has been edited to include a religious hymn -- shows a bear running through a rural area, followed by four cubs. It has been viewed more than 12,000 times. 

"After Jatayu, Jambavanta's army reached Ayodhya city. A sleuth of bears was seen for the first time in the village around Ayodhya," reads the Hindi-language caption of a Facebook post shared here on January 10, 2024.  

The caption refers to Ayodhya, a holy town in north India's Uttar Pradesh state where a new temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Ram is set to be inaugurated on January 22.

The temple is being built on the ground where a mosque stood for centuries before it was torn down by Hindu zealots in 1992 following a campaign backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party. 

Muslim residents of Ayodhya, remembering the deadly riots that accompanied the demolition, have been wary of its renewed atmosphere of religious fervour (archived link). 

But for many more, the project is both a means of restoring Ayodhya to the glory of its depiction in ancient Hindu texts and proof of Modi's commitment to defending India's majority faith just months ahead of national elections. 

Jatayu and Jambavanta are mythical creatures mentioned in the epic poem Ramayana which details the life and times of Ram (archived links here, here and here).

The caption suggests that ahead of the temple consecration, the mythical animals associated with the Hindu deity were seen visiting the temple site.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on January 15, 2024

The video was shared alongside a similar claim elsewhere on Facebook here, here; and on X here.  

There have been no official reports about bears being spotted in Ayodhya recently.

The video has circulated in reports about bears spotted in Shahdol, a city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, approximately 285 miles (459 kilometres) from Ayodhya.

Video from different state

A keyword search on Google found the same video published on a Hindi-language news website Navbharat Times on January 5, 2024 (archived link).  

The report's headline reads, "MP News: Female bear goes on a morning walk with 4 cubs, villagers watch with bated breath." 

The report says that residents were surprised to see a group of bears running through Bansukli village, Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh state. 

As the district is near a national park and a tiger reserve, sightings of wild animals in residential areas are common, according to the report.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the Navbharat Times video (right):  

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Screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the Navbharat Times video (right)

A clearer version of the video was published here on the YouTube channel of a local outlet Madhya Bharat Times on January 4, 2024 (archived link).  

Other media organisations have also published the same video here, here and here  in reports about the sighting in Shahdol district (archived links here, here and here).  

District Forest Officer of Shahdol Gaurav Chaudhary told AFP that the claim in the social media posts was false. 

"This is the season of guava and at this time bears often come out in search of food in the village areas. The bears did not harm anyone and the forest department team has sent them back to the reserve area," Chaudhary told AFP on January 15. 

AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation around the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya here, here and here.

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