Leopard video busted in the ninth second
Even though it is plausible for leopards to wonder the streets of Mbombela, this video is definitely busted…
23 hours ago
Leopard CCTV Video
MBOMBELA – The recent video of a leopard supposedly caught on CCTV cameras in front of Weylandts spread like wildfire on social media. Even international news agencies got on board to show that one might indeed come across a wild animal in the business districts of South Africa.
Although rare, leopard sightings in town are not uncommon in the Lowveld, making this video very plausible. However, curiosity killed the cat and Weylandts’ reluctance to let it out of the bag triggered Lowvelder to explore the authenticity of this video.
Wildlife expert and senior manager of wildlife protection at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), Mr Jan Muller, feels that it is plausible.
leopard video linkAccording to Muller leopards are nocturnal and reports of them being spotted in town surface from time to time. “Due to their typical cat-like nature and inquisitiveness they can easily sneak around town without being noticed. In times where they struggle to hunt in the bush, which is also rapidly getting smaller due to development, they might turn to urban areas to prey on soft targets,” Muller explains.
He also says leopards have large territories that they protect and these might include towns. In time they can get used to man-made structures and might venture into town. The fact that it is plausible for a leopard to be seen in Mbombela, however, does not constitute that this was in fact the case with the said video.
According to video-editing specialist, Mr Estiaan van Rooyen, it is quite obvious that the footage is not real. “Although it is not that hard to fool people with the technology that is available today, there are several factors that gave it away for me at the first look.”
According to Van Rooyen the sides of the video frame are jagged, which is not normal for CCTV footage. There is also an effects filter applied to it which creates the lines across the screen and gives it a greenish tint. CCTV footage will either be colour or plain black and white. It also won’t have sound and the distortion you see at the eight-second mark.
But what really put the nail in the coffin was a small detail that hardly anyone noticed. If you look carefully at the leopard’s tail, you will notice that at the nine-second mark it jumps from one position to the next without movement. This little glitch leads Van Rooyen to believe that the video was made by applying various video layers on top of each other.
There is clearly no camera to capture the footage that was shared on social media.
So if it is not real, why was it uploaded by Weylandts? Many believe that it is a clever marketing ploy for the newly opened furniture franchise. This, however, raises questions with regard to advertising ethics and standards.
According to the Advertising Code of Practice as published by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (Asa), “Advertisements should not contain any statement or visual presentation which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, inaccuracy, exaggerated claim or otherwise, is likely to mislead the consumer.”
It also states that “in electronic media particular care should be taken to clearly distinguish between programme content and advertising. Where there is a possibility of confusion, advertising should be clearly identified in a manner acceptable to Asa.”
Shop Manager Ms Nadine de Bruin, said she was not at liberty to make any official comment, but did allude to the fact that there were no security cameras mounted from where the video was recorded.
Head of marketing at Weylandts, Mr Tim Culley, was also not willing to give any clarity as to the origin or motive of the video and said, “We discussed at length, and at the moment we’re happy to go quietly into the sunset and let people make of it what they will.”
When asked for comment on the regulations of the Advertising Code of Practice, Culley was still not willing to comment and merely stated, “Before Weylandts, I was the MD of two international ad agencies, so I’m pretty familiar with the Asa code. I’m therefore also pretty familiar with the difference between content and advertising…”
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