CLAIM: A compilation of videos shows animals — including lions, an elephant and a rhinoceros — which were released from a French zoo by protestors during recent unrest triggered by the deadly police shooting of a teen.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The videos predate the current riots in France and most were filmed in other countries, including the U.K., Nepal and the Czech Republic.
THE FACTS: Amid protests that erupted after a 17-year-old named Nahel Merzouk was fatally shot by a police officer in France last week, social media users are sharing the compilation of animal videos, erroneously claiming that they are related to the tension.
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News outlets are warning of a deadly TikTok challenge that involves people jumping off speeding boats.
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The video includes 15 clips showing myriad animals on the move, often in urban environments where they are out of place. Included are clips of lions walking among cars, a zebra running down a city street and a rhinoceros strolling past a row of shops.
One Instagram post that shared the compilation had received more than 4,600 likes by Thursday, and it also spread widely on Twitter and TikTok. The posts claim the animals were released by protesters from a zoo in France, often specifying Paris.
But the videos have nothing to do with the current unrest in the country, as they were all either filmed prior to recent protests, outside of the country — or both. In response to a question about whether it was aware its animals had allegedly been released, the Paris Zoological Park posted on Twitter in French that they “are fine and are all safe.”
The first video in the compilation shows a pride of lions weaving among a group of parked cars. It was posted on YouTube in 2020 with the user identifying the location as Knowsley Safari, a tourist attraction near Liverpool, England, where visitors can drive amongst wild animals. Knowsley Safari confirmed to The Associated Press that the video was filmed at the park.
A similar video later on in the montage shows a male lion walking alone past a row of cars. It was posted on YouTube in 2021 with the caption, “a curious lion at Knowsley Safari park in England.”
A third clip of lions, depicting a pride walking at night next to a low brick wall, was first shared on Twitter in February by a user who identifies himself as a member of the Indian Forest Service. He wrote that it was filmed in the Indian state of Gujarat, which contains Gir National Park and its population of Asiatic lions. While the AP could not independently confirm the location, multiple Indian news outlets wrote about the video at the time, and it certainly predates the protests.
A zebra can be seen running down a city street in another video, followed closely by two horses. This footage first appeared online in April 2020 and was featured in news coverage about animals that had escaped from a circus in a suburb of Paris.
The next video shows a rhinoceros strolling past two shops as onlookers watch from nearby. Damien Mander, an environmentalist and activist, first posted a longer version of the video on his Instagram account in 2019, explaining that it was filmed in Nepal near Chitwan National Park. Signs seen in the background reading “Hotel Peacock” and “Sauraha Pharmacy” match images on Google Maps from a town near the park.
The compilation then shows an elephant walking into busy traffic near a Shell gas station. It was originally posted on Twitter in June 2018 by a user who said it was filmed in Neuwied, Germany. News coverage at the time featured the clip and reported that authorities had received reports of the animal walking around the town and suspected that it had escaped from a visiting circus nearby.
A goat wandering along a street at night near parked cars is shown in another clip. While the AP could not confirm exactly when and where the video was taken, it dates back to at least January, when a longer version was posted on TikTok by a user who identifies the location as Ales in France.
The next video shows a swan meandering across an urban bridge. Although it is unclear when the footage was taken, Prague’s National Theatre is clearly visible in the background and the location matches the nearby Legion Bridge on Google Maps.
In another video, three gorillas round the corner of a yellow building with a green wall in the background. The origin of the clip is unclear, as the video has been shared widely as a meme since at least December 2022, but the location matches Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan. The same yellow wall appears in other videos of the zoo’s gorillas, and longer versions of the video from the compilation reveal more of the green wall, through which visitors can view the primates.
A video of a peacock walking past a crosswalk and along a road has been online since at least May, when it was posted to TikTok. The post states that it was filmed in Stains, near Paris, and is captioned in French, “when you meet a peacock in the 93,” referring to Seine-Saint-Denis, the department of France in which Stains is located.
Also filmed in this area are separate clips of a camel and what appears to be a bull or an ox, which was posted as one video on TikTok in 2022 with text over the top identifying the location as “the 93.” Another video of the same incident appeared on Twitter in 2020. A black and gray building in Gennevilliers, another suburb of Paris, matches one that can be seen in both clips.
Another video shows a large black canine walking on the street. The original was posted in April on TikTok by a user who said it was filmed in Marseille, France, and suggested the animal was a wolf. A local news outlet covered the incident at the time, speaking with a veterinarian who said it was actually a dog.
Two of the final clips show a herd of ostriches running down a city street. The videos match footage seen in January 2022 news reports about a herd that escaped from a farm in Chongzuo, China.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
