Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
As a winter storm swept through Northern America, resulting in 60 fatalities in the US alone, scores of videos and images, purportedly connected to the blizzard, have found their way to the internet.
In this background, a video of a man rescuing a deer whose snout is frozen in a thick block of snow is going viral online. Several social media users shared the video linking it to the harsh weather conditions in the US and Canada. Newschecker found the video to be old and unrelated to the current situation in North America.
The video of a man rescuing a “frozen deer” is being widely shared on Twitter with the caption, “This extreme cold weather across many parts of the USA & Canada has been extremely harsh for people & wildlife. This crazy footage shows two walkers who spotted a deer with its mouth,eyes & ears completely frozen over.”
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.
It is going viral on Facebook with similar captions.
Links to such posts can be found here, here, here and here.
News outlet Mirror Now also shared snippets from the viral clip in a video report posted on Facebook with the caption, “U.S. DEADLY BLIZZARD | The extreme cold weather across many parts of the USA & Canada has been extremely harsh for people & wildlife. Crazy footage show two men who spotted a deer with its mouth, eyes & ears completely frozen over. #uswinterstorm”
The video has also found its way to YouTube.
Also Read: Covid A Seasonal Illness? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Message, Video
Fact Check/Verification
A keyword search for “deer,” “frozen” “snow” & “saved” on YouTube led us to a video by PRESS TV, dated March 4, 2021, titled ‘Frozen deer saved by locals in Kazakhstan.’
It carried a longer version of the viral video and the description read, “Two Kazakhstan residents Abylaikhan Kuandyk and Nurzhan Makayev found a roe deer on the road on February 25. The men were intrigued by the untypical behaviour of the animal – it was standing quietly with its head down. The roe deer’s muzzle was encased in ice and snow, so the animal could hardly move or see anything. The men seized hold of the roe to rescue it and took off all ice and snow from its head. After the impromptu rescue operation the roe run away into the fields. (sic)”
Taking a clue, we looked up “roe deer,” “Kazakhstan” & “saved” on Google which yielded a report by Ruptly, dated March 4, 2021, carrying a longer version of the viral footage showing man rescuing the animal with the title, ‘Kazakhstan: Locals save roe deer with muzzle encased in ice.’
The news outlet had also shared the footage on it’s official Twitter account on March 6, 2021, with the caption, “Locals save #roedeer with muzzle encased in ice in #Kazakhstan.”
Russia’s RT had tweeted the video on March 4, 2021, with the caption, “Deer with frozen face rescued by locals in #Kazakhstan “
We found that a slightly shorter version of the viral footage was also uploaded on the official YouTube channel of Turkey’s TRT World on March 7, 2021. The description of the same read, “Here is how locals rescued a roe deer in Kazakhstan after its whole face was encased in thick ice.”
Several YouTube channels had posted the video showing locals rescuing a “frozen” deer in Kazakhstan in 2021. Such videos can be seen here, here, and here.
Conclusion
Viral video showing a man rescuing a deer whose muzzle is encased in snow is over one-year-old and is not linked to the recent weather conditions in North American countries.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By PRESS TV, Dated March 4, 2021
Report By Ruptly, Dated March 4, 2021
Tweet By RT, Dated March 4, 2021
YouTube Video By TRT World, Dated March 7, 2021
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
