Viral video of snow covered deer has no relation with US Bomb Cyclone – FactCrescendo | The leading fact-checking website in India

It was captured in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country, in February 2021 and it has no link with recent US Bomb Cylone.

An intense blizzard or snowstorm in the US and Canada also termed ‘Élliott’ or ‘Bomb Cyclone’ has caused huge devastation in the country. So far, the death toll from this historic blizzard has surpassed 60, as heavy snowfall, freezing winds, and a sudden drop in temperature wreaked havoc across the United States.

Meanwhile, a video is going viral on social media, In the video you can see a deer standing on the side of the road with its head down. The roe deer’s muzzle was encased in ice and snow, so the animal could hardly move or see anything. In such a situation, one person grabbed it and removed the ice from its body. This brought great relief to the deer and immediately it jumped up and ran down the aisle. Users who shared the video claimed that this incident showed the harsh effect of the US Bomb Cyclone and Cold wave.

The caption in the video states, “Bomb Cyclone Freeze America , 75 members American’s Dead for heavy Cool temperature, North American People and Animals Are suffering from this Bomb cyclone, Horrible to see this video, Animal’s suffering a lot due to this cyclone, Stay Safe & Take care , The people of America”

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This video is also being circulated on Facebook with the caption 

“This extreme cold weather across many parts of the USA & Canada has been extremely harsh for people & wildlife.This footage shows two walkers who spotted and helped a deer with its mouth, eyes and ears completely frozen over”.

Despite the touching claims, we found that the depicted incident is not from United States. Let’s check the facts.

Fact Check-

A simple reverse image search on Google led us to a blog on the Rainforest Site with the headline “Good Samaritans Save Frozen Deer Covered in Ice.” The blog says one deer in Kazakhstan was fortunate to be given a second chance to life by two locals. This disaster was averted when Abylaikhan Kuandyk and Nurzhan Makayev stepped in to assist the injured deer. The two were outside when they noticed a lone deer standing alone on the side of a snowy road. They noticed something strange about the way the deer was positioned. It was completely still, with its head down. It was completely immobile. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the deer could not move its head due to a solid amount of snow and ice that had frozen over its head. the temperature of that day was -68.8°F, the deer was unable to free itself from its icy trap. The man took hold of the deer and helped it to the ground. Then, he quickly and gently set about breaking the ice and snow off of the deer’s head and the deer immediately ran off once it was freed.

The blog provided a link to a longer version of this viral video, which Press TV (an Austrian news channel) uploaded to YouTube in March 2021 with the caption “Frozen deer saved by locals in Kazakhstan.” The description says Two Kazakhstan residents Abylaikhan Kuandyk and Nurzhan Makayev found a roe deer on the road on February 25, 2021.

According to SDP Noticias, a Mexican media outlet, the incident occurred in Kazakhstan, where two brothers from the Denisov district were driving home when they noticed the deer on the side of the road and decided to help. 

A four-minute video of the incident was also included in the report.

In further search we discovered an article by KST News in which the two brothers from Kostanay were interviewed. “It was a shame that other drivers also saw a wandering animal, but drove past. In such cases, you need to stop and try to help,” one of the brothers told KST News. The report also included a photo of the brothers and the deer they rescued.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be misleading. This video is not recent, nor is it related to the US Bomb Cyclone. It was captured in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country, in February 2021.

Title:Viral video of snow covered deer has no relation with US Bomb Cyclone

Fact Check By: Usha Manoj 

Result: Misleading