Fact Check: Family of deer roaming on streets after land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli? No, the video is from Uttarakhand
A video of a small herd of deer roaming the streets in the middle of the night is going viral on social media with claims that it shows the aftermath of land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows a family of deer roaming the streets after land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is from Uttarakhand and first surfaced on social media in 2020.
Hyderabad: A video showing a small herd of deer walking on a road at night is going viral on social media, with claims that it captures the aftermath of land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli. The Telangana government recently launched a project to clear 400 acres in the area for IT infrastructure and urban development. However, following widespread public outcry, the Supreme Court ordered a halt to the deforestation in the forested zone near the University of Hyderabad (UoH).
The text on the video reads, āDon't Let Revanth Reddy Destroy HCU's Green Cover ā Speak Up! Revanth Reddy's Destruction of HCU's Green Cover ā Animals in Danger!ā
The video was shared on Instagram on 4 April 2025. An archived version of the video can be found here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is an old clip showing deer roaming the streets in Uttarakhand.
Using reverse image search, we found a Facebook post that uploaded the viral video on 27 March 2020. The video was shared with the caption, āBeautiful! A family of Sambars stroll down the road in Haridwar during the lockdown! As humans retreat to their homes, animals venture out even in India! The sign of a good curfew is wild animals on the road! Well done Haridwar!ā
Another Facebook post uploaded on the same day carried the caption, āLast night in Shivalik Nagar, Haridwar.ā
A 27 March 2020 news report by India Today also confirms that the viral video originated in Uttarakhandās Haridwar. The report was titled, āVideo of Sambar deer walking in Uttarakhand society goes viral. Twitter cannot believe.ā
The report states that the video of Sambar deer roaming freely at night was shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda. India Today included a link to the tweet in its report.
Sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter) on 27 March 2020, Nanda wrote, āNow Spotted deer herds on the road. Sender says that itās near Rajaji National Park. Wildlife really claiming their spaceā¦ (For some cynical about wildlife reclaiming its area in my earlier posts ā this is a recent video. Effects of lockdown. Not fake).ā
According to the official website, Rajaji National Park is located in Uttarakhand and is home to Sambar deer, among other species.
While the exact date the video was shot is unclear, it surfaced online in March 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hence it does not show wildlife roaming the streets of Hyderabad following land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli.
