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A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts which claim it shows a caretaker lying next to several cheetahs at a Hindu temple in India. The claim is false; the video shows an American animal rights activist with cheetahs at a breeding centre in South Africa in 2019. The video was published here on Facebook on August 6, 2020. It has been viewed more than 6,000 times. Screenshot of misleading Facebook post The post's Hindi-language caption translates to English as: Look at this incredible example of humanity. This video is from Pipleshwar Mahadev Temple of Mochhal (Sirohi), where these cheetahs sleep with the caretaker of the temple everyday, assuming him as one of their own. Courtesy: Facebook page, Voice of Rajasthan Police. Pipleshwar Mahadev is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva , the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The temple is located in Mochhal, a village in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. The video was also shared here , here , here and here on Facebook; and here , here , here and here on Twitter alongside a similar claim. The claim, however, is false. A keyword search on Google found a longer version of the video posted by Dolph C. Volker , an American animal rights activist, on his YouTube channel here on January 21, 2019. The footage in the misleading post corresponds with the YouTube video from the one-minute five-second mark. The lengthy caption of the YouTube video states in part: These captive cheetahs were bred and born at cheetah breeding centers in South Africa; one at Cheetah Experience. All are quite tame as they are groomed for the breeding program so when they have cubs, they can be monitored closely... I was granted special permission to spend my nights with the three because I had watched them grow up and built up a relationship with them during past volunteering. Cheetah Experience is a registered non-profit endangered species breeding centre in Bloemfontein, South Africa, according to information on its website. Below are two sets of screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the YouTube video (R): Image comparing screenshot
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