The same photos that purportedly show a tiger in the Ocala National Forest have been circulating online with similar claims at other parks across the country.
Over the past week, tens of thousands of people have shared the same three photos of the tiger.
A reverse Google image search shows that the image was circulated around five years ago with the same premise. In 2019, the photos went viral allegedly claiming to show the tiger along the Rio Grande river banks.
That original story was debunked by multiple news agencies in the days that followed the original post, which was published on May 1, 2019.
During our searches, we found that the same tiger photos have been used in multiple, fake sightings. Users claim to have seen the tiger at parks in Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Texas, among other states.
In each instance, the original poster claims there is a “10,000 dollar reward” for anyone who “can catch” the tiger or has information on its location.
A Facebook user with thousands of followers shared the same photo on March 13, claiming the tiger had been seen in the Ocklawaha River in the Ocala National Forest:
That post alone has been shared over 13,000 times and seen by an estimated 1,000,000 people.
A Twitter page with over 40,000 followers shared the same photos, generating thousands of views:
In many of the original posts, the Facebook user attributes the fake photos to local news agencies:
Here are some other instances that we found on social media:
- In Louisiana, multiple news agencies debunked the same photos after claims circulated that the tiger was seen at Lake Martin in Lafayette.
- In Maryland, a post shared by a Facebook user gained thousands of shares, claiming the tiger was spotted at Greenbriar Lake in Hagerstown.
- In Alabama, local news anchors debunked the same photos after a few residents claimed the tiger was at Municipal Park in Opelika.
- In Texas, a local news agency debunked the photo after a user claimed to have seen the tiger at Espada Park in San Antonio.
- In Oklahoma, users reportedly spotted the tiger at Chickasha Lake, offering the same reward and fake news credit.
Did you see the fake photo tigers through across your social media feeds? Share your experiences with us.