FALSE: This video of a lion chasing cattle is from India, not Kenya
A video showing a lion chasing a herd of cattle that claims to be from Rongai is FALSE.
The video, which was also shared on Twitter, shows cattle running through an alley in what looks like a residential area, followed by a dog before the lion emerged in pursuit. A timestamp on the video suggests that it was recorded on November 28, 2019.
The blog post further claims that the lion captured in the CCTV footage could be the stray lion Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) is searching for after its escape from the Nairobi National Park.
However, a search on InVid and subsequent reverse image search of key frames in the video shows that it was shot in India’s western state of Gujarat, and the incident was reported by TV9 Gujarati, who indicated that the video was from Dhari, a town in Amreli District. The region is known for its wandering lion population.
KWS’s Head of Corporate Communications Ngugi Gecaga did not immediately respond to queries by PesaCheck but is quoted in an article by Nairobi News saying the lion in the video was not in Ongata Rongai as claimed.
Since the Tuala incident, KWS has dismissed claims about lions on the prowl in areas adjacent to the Nairobi National Park. PesaCheck previously fact checked another claim that ten lions were on the loose in Rongai and its vicinity and found the claim to be exaggerated.
PesaCheck has looked into a video claiming to show a lion chasing a herd of cattle in Rongai, and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Researcher Simon Muli, was edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor Ann Ngengere and was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with additional funding support from the International Budget Partnership (Kenya) and Twaweza, in partnership with a coalition of local media organisations, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).