Fact Check: Is Haiku Bird a real creature found in Nepal?

Hyderabad: An image of a beautiful blue-white fox-like creature apparently called ‘Haiku Bird’ is being widely shared on social media claiming it to be found in Nepal.

An X user has shared the images of the bird captioning ‘Rare creature, Haiku bird found only in Nepal’. Netizens are astonished to see the beauty of the bird. Some have expressed concern if the creature has been found in a real sense or if the image is photoshopped.

A Telugu YouTube channel 'Planet Leaf' has also featured a video of the same bird under the title ‘The Mysterious Haiku Bird Found Only In Nepal - Booned As Immortal From Lord Shiva’.

The video claimed that this is a mysterious animal. This four-legged bird is said to be goddess Parvathi Devi's pet. A rare species that is also engraved in Hindu mythology. Haiku is also believed to be an immortal creature.

The images of the same bird have been shared by the Imgur website with the same claim.

Fact Check

To check the authenticity of the claim, NewsMeter conducted a reverse image search on the viral image and found the same on Pinterest with the watermark of Fruit-bat-Phoenix. The image was named Cloud Antelope.

“The original cloud antelope by a Fruit Bat Phoenix formerly CMWyvern”. It is clearly stated by the artist that the image of the viral Cloud Antelope is a poseable creature art doll.

Taking this as a cue, we performed a keyword search and found multiple similar images of the viral creature on the website of Fruit-Bat-Phoenix created by the artist. The viral image was created in 2014. A similar and clearer version of the same has been uploaded on www.fruitbatphoenix.com website in 2021.

Pertinently, CMWyvern is an artist from Maryland, United States who creates OOAK poseable fantasy creature art dolls. The artist is now known by its artistic name Fruit-Bat-Phoenix.

Taking a dig at the nonconsensual use of her creation with misleading claims on social media, the artist has given a clarification on her website about her art work.

The clarification note reads, 'An image of Cloud Antelope from before I started watermarking my photos has been featured on several Youtube videos, viral Facebook posts, and other derivative "content." If you have seen this image elsewhere, know that it is in fact my work. Cloud Antelope is a creature of my imagination – not an obscure Pokemon or a photoshopped dog. To be very clear, I have not consented to the use of this image as misleading clickbait. Cloud Antelope is one of a kind poseable creature art doll. The head and legs are sculpted in polymer clay, while the rest of the body is soft and constructed over a wire armature.'

The artist further shows her nonconsent for any kind of use of her image without her watermark.

Hence, we conclude that the viral image of the Four-legged, banana-eating diety’s pet Haiku Bird is an artwork, not a real mythical creature.