Fact Check: Video of a tiger relaxing in a tub is not from Coorg — it’s from the US

A video of a Royal Bengal tiger relaxing in a tub of water in a wooded area has been making rounds on social media. According to those sharing it, this breathtaking scene was captured on a coffee plantation in Coorg, Karnataka.

One person wrote while sharing the video, "At a coffee plantation in Coorg in Southern India. A visitor inspects his bath and enjoys a lovely soak."

"This unique moment was captured at a coffee plantation in Coorg in Southern India," read another such post.

India Today, however, found that the video is from somewhere other than Coorg or even India. It is from North Carolina in the US.

Our Probe

Reverse-searching keyframes from the viral video led us to a similar video uploaded to a YouTube channel Carolina Tiger Rescue, a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary whose mission is saving and protecting wild cats.

Though this video uploaded on May 28, 2021, was filmed from a different angle, a Royal Bengal tiger could be seen soaking in a similar plastic tub.

The video was titled "Madonna Tiger gets her pool (2021)", and the description further added, "Last year, our video of Madonna Tiger receiving her first pool of the summer went viral on Facebook!! It's been viewed 5 million times and liked by nearly 150,000 people. So, we'd be remiss if we didn't share Madonna's first pool video from this year!"

Taking a clue from this, a subsequent search with keywords led us to the original video uploaded to the Facebook page of Carolina Tiger Rescue Sanctuary on June 11, 2020.

The video’s description read: “We promised you Madonna Tiger in a pool, so here she is! We gave her her pool yesterday, and she immediately took advantage of the new water feature.”

It further added, “Madonna is very vocal, and always has something to say to keepers and volunteers when they come to visit. She is also incredibly active and athletic for a tiger her age and never ceases to impress people with her stalking skills. Anytime she hears someone approach, she hides and stalks them! It can be very difficult to find her until she comes running up to the fence to say hello, but now that she has a pool, it may be a little easier to spot her!”

According to the website of Carolina Tiger Rescue, Madonna the tiger was rescued from Alabama, a southeastern region of the United States in September 2014.

This indicates that a video from the Carolina Tiger Rescue sanctuary was misinterpreted as being from Coorg, Karnataka.

It’s noteworthy that In December 2020, Times Now too carried this video in a report and wrongly claimed this was from Coorg, Karnataka.