Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Fact Check

Viral Video Showing Dog Rescue In Landslides-Hit Wayanad Is Old & Unrelated

Written By Vasudha Beri, Edited By Pankaj Menon
Aug 2, 2024
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Claim
Dog and her puppies rescued in landslides-hit Wayanad.

Fact
Old video from Palakkad falsely linked to current situation in Wayanad. 

Several social media users shared a one-minute-thirty-second-long-video of a dog and her puppies being rescued from under the mud, claiming it to be a recent incident from the landslides-hit Wayanad. Newschecker, however, found the footage to be old and unrelated to the current situation in the Kerala district.

The video is being widely shared on X and Facebook with users claiming it to be from Wayanad. 

Such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.

Also Read: Wayanad Landslides – Video Of DYFI Relief Efforts Falsely Shared As RSS Aid

Fact Check/Verification

A Google lens search on the keyframes of the viral footage led us to a report by Manorama Online, dated October 19, 2021. Carrying a screengrab from the same video, it stated that a mother dog and her puppies who were trapped under a mudslide in Palakkad were rescued by the locals.

Screengrab from Manorama Online

We then looked up keywords “Palakkad,” “Dog Rescued,” and “Landslide” on Google which led us to a report by The News Minute from October, 2021. It featured an image similar to the visuals seen in the viral footage, and stated, “On October 10, Sabitha and Ashraf, a couple who run a shop in a village bordering Palakkad-Malappuram districts of Kerala, heard a dog wailing.”

Screengrab from TNM website

“They searched but couldn’t find where the wails and whimperings came from. They heard the same cries of a dog for two more days until on October 12, the family decided to undertake a closer inspection. Finally, they found where the wailing came from — beneath a mound of mud. The dog and her two puppies were buried below the mud in a minor landslide in Palakkad district…”

Also Read: 2001 Image of El Salvador Earthquake Viral As Wayanad Landslide

The report further quoted Ashraf as saying, “We heard a wailing sound of a dog in this area for three days. There was a minor landslide due to the rains and they were trapped under the mud. We could hear only the muffled sounds. We dug out the mud a bit and saw the dog’s head. When we dug further, we saw six pups. However, only two of the pups survived. Now, the mother dog and her surviving babies have regained health and they are safe.”

It also featured a YouTube video by Manorama News with snippets from the viral footage showing the rescue of the mother dog and her puppies.

Video Not From Landslides-Hit Wayanad
Screengrab from YouTube video by Manorama News

Another report on the incident by The New Indian Express also corroborated that dogs and two pups “survived a minor landslide after lying covered with mud behind a shop for three days” on the Palakkad–Malappuram border and were rescued by the locals.

Also Read: Old, Unrelated Images From Idukki Linked To Recent Landslides In Wayanad

Conclusion

Hence, an old video from Palakkad has been falsely shared to a dog and her puppies being rescued from landslides-hit Wayanad.

Result: False

Sources
Report By Manorama Online, Dated October 19, 2021
Report By The News Minute, Dated October 14, 2021
YouTube Video By Manorama News, Dated October 13, 2021


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