Has tiger escaped from Oakland Zoo in California? Fact Check
Rumours on social media claim a tiger has escaped from Oakland Zoo in California amid the coronavirus pandemic and demonstrations in the area.
Rumours about an escaped tiger gained traction on social media when the Alameda County Sheriff’s department tweeted about reports of a tiger seen near Oakland Zoo.
Reports of a Tiger on the loose near the Oakland Zoo. If you see it call 911. 98th Ave at Golf Links.
— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) June 1, 2020
However, only an hour later, the same police department tweeted that the tigers at the zoo were all accounts for.
Tigers are all accounted for at the Oakland Zoo. They just checked and confirmed.
— Alameda County Sheriff (@ACSOSheriffs) June 1, 2020
Oakland Zoo also tweeted at the same time to say that reports of an escape animal were false.
Attention to all our followers: The reports about any of our animals being outside of the Zoo are FALSE. The FALSE report was given by a bus driver to the Alameda County Sheriff.
Thank you all for your concern and have a safe night!
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) June 1, 2020
Claims on social media that purport to show photos of said tiger have – in the instances that we’ve seen – actually show photos that date back a number of years and were taken in countries outside of the United States.
As such, the claim is ranked false.