Viral video of a tiger taking bath is not from Coorg, Karnataka

Context

A video of a tiger sitting in a rubber tub is circulating on social media with the claim that the tiger was spotted at a coffee plantation in Coorg, in the southern Indian State of Karnataka. This post was also reposted by Indian actor Rashmika Mandanna, who wrote, “Anything can happen in Coorg.. hence proved.”

Several news and media websites, including NDTV and Asianet, had written articles in 2020 with similar claims that the video was captured in Coorg, India.

However, this video is not from Coorg and is not recent.

In fact

A quick search showed us that this video with this particular claim has been going viral since 2020.

A reverse image search using the keyframes from the video led us to an X post by an organization called Carolina Tiger Rescue based in the United States. The organization posted this video of the tiger taking a bath on all their social media accounts on June 11, 2020. The caption to their X post from 2020 read, “Madonna Tiger received her pool yesterday! Pools are one of the ways we help the cats stay cool during the summer, and clearly they love it. Madonna, while known for her hiding and stalking skills, may be easier to find now that she has her summertime tub to relax in!” 

The Carolina Tiger Rescue YouTube channel has other videos of the same tiger, who passed away recently this year, according to the reserve’s ‘In Memoriam’ page. 

The verdict

The video of a tiger taking a bath in a bathtub is from North Carolina, not from a coffee plantation in Coorg in Karnataka. Therefore, we have rated this claim as false.