Woolly Mammoth in Viral Video Proved a Fake — So What Was It Then?
- Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:50am by
Liz Klimas
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Last week, we brought you the questionable video of what appeared to be a woolly mammoth crossing a river in Siberia. The viral video now has more than 3 million hits on YouTube and the creature in the video has been identified — almost.
When the video hit the Internet, discussion of what the animal in the blurry footage could be also began swirling. Theories included: the avid belief that it was in fact a woolly mammoth — this was the least popular theory; the footage was Photoshopped to include the image of the extinct animal; and that it was really a distorted image a bear holding a fish in its mouth.
Here’s the viral video if you missed it:
What’s the verdict? Photoshop. The backdrop is real and the filmmaker of the river — sans mammoth — has clarified what he saw, which was nothing out of the ordinary. The Huffington Post reports that documentary filmmaker Lou Petho was among one of the more interesting comments it received on the story. Petho wrote:
“I’m the guy that filmed the river footage in the Sayan Mountains in the summer of 2011. … I don’t recall sighting a mammoth. … I had no idea my footage was used to make this fake sighting, and question if a law was broken here.”
The footage circulating the Internet was branded with paranormal writer Michael Cohen’s name and was said in the YouTube description to have been taken by a government employee during the summer of 2011. While Petho did film it at that time, his original footage doesn’t show anything crossing the river.
Notice how the rocks and river scenery are more in focus in this screenshot from Petho's video.
Check out Petho’s clip of the river (Note: Unlike the fake woolly mammoth video which was just posted this year, this original footage was posted shortly after the time of its filming):
The Huffington Post has more from Petho on his original footage:
He surmised that Cohen may have taken his high definition footage and used it as a backdrop to create an elaborate hoax showing a woolly mammoth (or bear, as many readers insist) crossing the river.
“I checked it against my footage and knew it was mine when I looked at the placement of rocks in the foreground,” Petho (seen above) told HuffPost, who he said was the first media organization to respond to his concerns.
“It was a mix of emotions,” he added. “At first I was just pissed off that somebody would do this. It was obviously orchestrated and I assume money was made over it, so I was annoyed about that.”
At the time of the fake video’s posting, film experts also had questioned its validity, noting it looked intentionally blurred.
The Petho shot the original scene for a documentary film about his grandfather’s escape in 1915 as a prisoner of war in Siberia.
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ThankBabyJesus
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 8:38pmI am so far right on the political spectrum my symbol for GOP is the Wooly Mammoth!
Report Post »midnightvelvet
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 3:03pmIt’s obviously a bear with a fish in its mouth. I’m amazed this garbage was posted in the first place, let alone allowed to remain here so long.
Report Post »tharpdevenport
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:01pmI called it a fake in the original story. How anybody these days, with the fancy images and video taken by even cellphones, can believe we are still getting blurry images, is a fool with money that will soon depart.
Blurry extinct animals, blurry UFO’s, blurry, blurry bigfoot. Next thing you know we’ll get a blurry picture of a conservative Mitt Romney.
Report Post »rwinger261
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:29amNow THAT was funny.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 3:01pmIt is michelle obama on all fours crossing a river with a fish in her mouth. She is on another vacation.
Report Post »Mattevan
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 2:56pmwow another blurry picture far far away…if that was me I would of ran up to that whatever it is and got a million dollar shot…jeeesh..some people.
Report Post »PossumRoadkill
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:57amI admit it, it was me crossing the river while eating a giant slim jim I found in the trash. I don’t know why we possums have this thing about eating from trash cans at parks, but we do so deal with it.
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:45amThe article says The Huffington Post is responsible for finding out the fraud?. Seems like they are focused on the wrong fraud!Hmmmmm.?
Report Post »brickmoon
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:11amUntil now, my vote was on ManBearPig.
Report Post »LIBSALWAYSLIE
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:48amBoring, its a bear with a fish. Zzzzzzzz…………
Report Post »libtardian-refugee
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 2:06pmI don’t think it can be ManBearPig, because the river is probably from melted snow, and we now know that all the snow melted during the heat wave in the 1990s
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:54amThere is not a bow wave around the animal…
Report Post »Miyegombo Bayartsogt
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:53amDang! After watching that first video I ran out and sold my house and car and belongings and took the cash and bought a huge wooly mammoth net and snare set off EBay and booked a nonrefunable one way trip to the middle of nowhere, Desolation, Siberia. Now I have to decide if I‘m a man of faith and go anyway despite the evidence or else stay here and tell my wife what I’ve done and accept the consequences.
Report Post »P8riot
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:06amLOL! Awesome post! ha!
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:55amYou gotta take the trip! I‘m still convinced there’s a wooly mammoth out there somewhere!
GO FOR IT!!!
Report Post »Broncobuster
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:44amThe tip off to me is seeing a supposed mammoth / elephant cross a river ,never taking the end of it’s trunk out of the water.It would have to breath at some point.
Report Post »Scrap-Diversity
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:55amHaven’t been to the blaze in awhile.. Not surprised to see nothing has changed as far as what they are passing as news.. lmfao, a Woolly Mammoth, WTF ?
Report Post »AmericanBumpkin
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:13amit’s a bear….
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:39amI’m pretty certain it had to be michelle O. in a fur coat…
Report Post »912er
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:34amI knew it wasn’t a real sighting… there was no saber-toothed tiger or sloth anywhere in the video…
Report Post »The Catbird
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:20amThe first time I saw this it was pretty clear that this was a kodiak bear with a salmon dinner. It does speak to the power of suggestion though.
Report Post »zman61
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:15amit’s two different films. the first one is obviously taken with a camera that is moving around and the second one is obviously taken from a tripod. Does this guy think he is the only person to ever think to take a video from this location?! Other than that, it’s probably a bear with a fish
Report Post »brickmoon
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:42amWell, I’m not really a videographer, but the “mammoth” river footage is apparently derived from the other video. Same perspective, cloud pattern, lighting, and almost identical ambient noise. The blurring and camera motion effects can be produced with software, and you’ll notice that the edges of the frame in the “handheld” shot are all within the boundaries of Pethco’s video.
Report Post »brickmoon
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 12:32pmZman61, I agree that it’s probably a bear or some CG element, but I‘m a pit bull when it comes to relatively pointless things about which I’m certain. Apparently, and perhaps rightly so, it is also an issue to Mr. Petho. Just now, I made a quick screenshot comparison using random frames of each video. The “mammoth” video (reduced to about 80%) is inset.
Exhibit “A,” your honor: http://twitpic.com/8jw24d
Unless that square foot of real estate in southern Siberia was a tourist hotspot that same day and hour, I’m thinking that somebody made use of the original footage.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:08amI haven‘t been this disappointed since Geraldo opened Al Capone’s vault.
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:57amLol
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:07amLol
Just realized, the Tin Foil Hat / greenie / evolution crowd will now claim the wooly mammoth was photoshopped OUT of the video. Lol
I still say it was Snuffaluffagous on vacation.
Report Post »He had had enough of ms piggy and kermit’s left wing extremist and socialist, in-your-face propaganda, and was sick and tired of being asked if Bert and Ernie were secretly gay.
So snuffy took a vacation to Siberia.
Lol
BONETRAUMA
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:04amits a walrus
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:03amShucks! I’m disappointed. I thought it was two bigfoots (or would that be bigfeet?) in a mammoth suit.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:11amGood one!!!
Report Post »mike_trivisonno
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:01amI read somewhere that it is a bear with a fish. I can’t find the link.
It looks like a bear with a fish to me, too.
Report Post »Cat
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 4:49pmFebruary 10, 2012 at 6:42pm
In reply to quicker.
East Siberian brown bear with a nice Taimen trout catch
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:52amWhoever stole his footage may be facing some serious jail time.
Report Post »123456beatriz
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:11amI am agree!
Report Post »Brooke Lorren
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 5:24amI don’t know about that, but they should probably face a civil suit. If they made any money off that hoax, the original videographer would be entitled to a hefty sum of that.
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