Fact check: Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo not broken into during protests
The claim: Animals from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago roamed the streets after a break-in during protests
As protests took place across the nation following the death of George Floyd, claims surfaced online that animals at the Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo escaped and roamed the streets after an alleged break-in.
“Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago got broken into, they set all the animals free in the streets,” the June 1 Facebook post reads. The post shows photos of an elephant, tiger, hippopotamus and giraffe walking on city streets.
Many in the comments were quick to notice that the post was not real, commenting “fake” and “Please provide source. Nothing in the news. Instead I see claims of this being a hoax. Please provide link if real.”
The user who shared the post did not respond to Paste BN’s request for comment.
The claim continued to be shared on Instagram, where users posted a screenshot of an alleged news notification that says “Zoo Break-In.” One user tweeted, "There are RHINOS and GIRAFFES loose in the streets of CHICAGO!!! PLEASE DO NOT HARM THE ANIMALS!!!!"
Zoo: Claims are false, animals are safe
The Lincoln Park Zoo took to social media to put out a statement to debunk the false claims that were being spread about a break-in.
“All animals at Lincoln Park Zoo are accounted for and safe,” a Facebook post from the zoo read. “There were no break-ins, thefts, or incidents on zoo grounds last night. Images circulating, claiming to be of Lincoln Park Zoo animals out of their habitats, are false.”
Several outlets in the city also reported that the claims were false such as the Daily Herald, and the Chicago Tribune.
Jillian Braun, the zoo’s director of public relations and communications, told the Chicago Tribune that there was also reportedly talk on the police scanner about the animals from the Lincoln Park Zoo roaming streets. Braun added that staff went to the zoo to ensure that all the animals were accounted for.
Video: Curious animals meet face-to-face in zoos, aquariums
Where are the photos really from?
The photo of the hippopotamus that was included in the post comes from Spain, where La Razon reported years ago that a hippopotamus escaped during a circus for unknown reasons. The 2016 article mentions that some “have not hesitated to take photos and record videos, which are already circulating on social networks.”
A reverse Google search reveals that the image of the lion is also from 2016, when a giant male lion was spotted on the streets of a city in South Africa, the Daily Mail reported. The lion was brought into the streets by a production crew for filming purposes.
The photo of the lion was also widely shared in March, when users claimed that Russia released lions to enforce stay-at-home orders due to the spread of COVID-19, a claim that was also quickly debunked.
Photos of the giraffe roaming the streets began to appear in 2014, when a high school student set off a social media storm called the “Louisville Purge.” Police dispatchers received 20% more calls from the public than normal due to the false information being spread online, the Courier Journal reported.
“There were even fake reports of someone freeing a giraffe from the Louisville Zoo,” the article reads.
Our rating: False
The claim that exotic animals escaped Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo during protests is rated FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Recent protests in Chicago did not lead to a zoo break-in, and the zoo itself announced that the information being spread online was not true and that all animals were safe and accounted for. Although the photos are real, reverse image searches reveal that the photos came from different incidents that arose for other reasons, not during a protest in Chicago. Some of the photos have been falsely shared for many years.
Our fact-check sources:
- Lincoln Park Zoo, June 1 Facebook post
- Chicago Tribune, "No, Lincoln Park Zoo animals were not set loose in Sunday’s looting"
- Daily Herald, "Facts Matter: Animals didn't leave Lincoln Park Zoo during protests"
- La Razon, "A hippopotamus, on a walk through Palos de la Frontera after escaping from the circus"
- Daily Mail, "Paws at the traffic lights! Giant male lion is seen prowling around the streets of South Africa's biggest city (but it's not as dangerous as you'd think)"
- PolitiFact, "No, Russia didn’t release lions to enforce COVID-19 stay-at-home orders"
- Courier Journal, "'Purge' takes toll on Louisville"
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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.