Footage showing a mama bison ramming a grizzly bear to protect her calf was being widely shared Thursday, but viewers should note that the footage appears to be either partially or fully manipulated.
Axiom attributed the footage to Bo Welden, a wildlife guide based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Axiom also stated, via Instagram
, that Welden captured the footage in Yellowstone National Park. (See footage below.)
Welden told me late Thursday that the footage is "not real" and likely AI generated.
Welden also commented on the Axiom post: "Wildlife Guide Bo Welden here. This is not my video. I did not see this. This appears to be AI. I will be reporting this. I would appreciate my name to be removed. Please and thank you."
As of the time of this post the Instagram
reel was still featured and had garnered more than 50,000 views. It can be viewed below or via this link. (Comments might have been deleted.)
Several followers called out the footage as fake, and some pointed out that a large grizzly bear would have inflicted considerable damage to the bison calf if the attack were genuine.
In the footage, the bear merely nudges the calf with its snout, leaving itself vulnerable to the bison attack. This seemed unrealistic to me, which is why I reached out to Welden.
The video clip has been copied and was also making the rounds Thursday on Threads, without attribution.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Yellowstone bison shown pummeling grizzly bear, but there’s a caveat
