Just need to keep watching the weekend newspapers for the typical reaction and scare mongering from certain journalists, irrespective of it being a hoax/fake. Sadly there will be some who think it is genuine even though now a proven fake.
All the best to everyone for the festive season and great birding in 2013.
It's completely fake, The wingbeats are to shallow, the wing shape as it 'attacks' is all wrong for a Golden eagle, and would a wild eagle really try and hunt that close to that many people? I think not. An eagle would also never attempt to fly off with such a large item. all wrong. bad C.G.I. Fake.
I normally refuse to watch all these viral videos - eventually, after closer-collective scrutiny via other people (plus intuition) they are just pathetic wastes of 3 minutes - I enjoy watching the proper birding videos, though :)
We all know this is a hoax but I wouldn't mind betting that there are many out there who accept this as genuine. This sort of stuff can easily fuel raptor persecution if people believe that their kids could get snatched.
I'm probably taking this a little too seriously but it was a thought that crossed my mind.
If you look carefully, when the man is running to the scene, his shadow looks all wrong (pointing in the wrong direction). Or is that an effect of the camera? Anyway, it looks fake to me.
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Target birds: Golden Plover, Little Owl, Common Crossbill.
Fake, if its caught a child then its not using much effort to fly off with it. The wing strokes are very shallow... If you watch it in slow motion is obvious its not real as child just free falls like a dummy.