A video showing a leopard walking slowly across an open field in Madhya Pradesh followed by large group of men who wanted to take pictures with it and pet it, is being shared online with claims that jokingly suggest that the animal was drunk.
BOOM found that the video lacks context; the leopard was severely unwell when the video was shot, causing it to walk slowly and appear weak in the video.
The video, shot from Iklera, a village in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh shows several villagers walking behind the leopard and touching it in an attempt to harass it; one individual is even seen trying to ride on its back.
A caption on X (formerly Twitter), reads "This leopard drank desi liquor from a bhatti of desi daru.. Villagers had to drop him to his abode.. 😃😃 Liquor affects everyone in a similar manner."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral claims are false. We spoke to the curator of the Indore Zoo, where the leopard is current receiving treatment and found that it is suffering from canine distemper.
A keyword search of the incident on Google led us to a story by The Times of India published on August 31, 2023. According to the report, the incident took place in Iklera on August 29 when a leopard wandered into the village which is about 170 kms from Indore.
The report stated that the leopard was rescued by forest officials from Dewas and Ujjain and shifted to the Indore Zoo, also known as the Kamla Nehru Zoo.
BOOM reached out to Nihar Parulekar, curator of the Indore Zoo, who explained the leopard's condition and said that it suffered from canine distemper.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, canine distemper mainly affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems of puppies and dogs. However, according to Mongabay, since leopards prey on dogs, the contagious nature of the virus can affect them too.
Parulekar said, "This means it suffers from neurological seizures, high fever, and has no control over its own body. Canine distemper cannot be cured once it is induced, only preventive medicine is the solution. We try to keep the leopard's temperature down." He also added that the leopard was put on saline.
Speaking about the leopard's current condition, he said chances of the leopard surviving were grim. "It feels like a matter of time-- the leopard's survival is difficult."