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'Eagle snatches kid' video is totally a hoax [VIDEO]

A YouTube video of a golden eagle snatching a baby in Montreal went viral Wednesday. The video's makers have since admitted it's a hoax. [Warning: Video contains a single expletive.]
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Published: Dec. 19, 2012 at 9:43 AM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

UPDATE:

Montreal's Centre NAD has said that three of their 3D design students created the "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid" video for a workshop class. "Both the eagle and the kid were created in 3D animation and integrated in to the film afterwards," Centre NAD wrote on their website Wednesday.

Original post below:

Finally, video proof that birds have it in for humans, even adorable baby humans sporting stylish winter coats with animal eyes on their hoods (Hitchcock is nodding his head somewhere in heaven). Posted to YouTube by a MrNuclearCat, this viral video supposedly shows a golden eagle snatching a baby off the ground in Montreal and immediately dropping him. Because this eagle is Canadian, we can only assume he was kindly offering the toddler a free ride and immediately apologized.

The video, which has garnered more than than 1.2 million views since it was posted Tuesday, already has its share of skeptics who think there might be some CGI magic at play.

Writes Gawker's Neetzan Zimmerman:

Enhanced versions of the video as well as individual stills appear to reveal several flaws in the creator's CGI: The eagle's wing disappears for a brief moment while in flight; the bird's shadow disappears and reappears at various times; the baby appears to be moving upwards after being dropped by the eagle; and the baby's ragdoll-like fall suggests the physics are computer-made.

David Bird, an aptly named bird expert, told CBC Radio that he felt the video was a hoax, saying that the "golden eagle," is actually an osprey.

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