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| - Fact Check: Seeing pink elephants? This bright pink creature was Photoshopped
The idiom "seeing pink elephants" refers to hallucinations caused by alcohol or narcotic substances. But what does that say about those who saw and shared a photo of a pink elephant on social media?
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India Today Fact Check
This image was also digitally altered. Pink elephant species don’t exist. At the same time, red soil does not alter the skin colour of elephants.
A Facebook post featuring a photo of a bright-pink elephant was widely circulated with a caption that claimed, “Pink elephants can be found in some regions of India. Because of the red soil, elephants take on a permanent pink colour because they spray dust over their bodies to protect themselves from insects.”
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that this image was Photoshopped. Additionally, neon pink elephants don’t exist — several wildlife experts confirmed this.
AFWA Probe
A reverse search of the viral image led us to a Brazilian website that featured a photo of the same elephant but without the neon pink colour. The photo was shared in 2005 and was attributed to Carlos ET Barreiros.
Subsequently, we found an archived version of the “freakingnews.com” photo dated June 28, 2010. The photo was credited to “zorro 13” here as well. It also mentioned a “Pink Day picture photoshop contest”.
But are there any species of pink elephants?
The answer is no. Several wildlife experts confirmed the same to India Today. Inspector General of Forests Ramesh Kumar Pandey, who is part of Project Elephant, rubbished the claim. He added that while elephants cover themselves in mud, this doesn’t change the colour of their skin.
A WWF India spokesperson also said that bright pink-coloured elephants like the one in the viral photo did not exist. Sanjay Pathak, the Field Director of Dudhwa National Park, told India Today that there are no known species of pink elephants.
Pathak, however, added that due to certain genetic disorders, certain elephant babies can be pale pink in colour. One such elephant baby was spotted in the Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2019. A video of this elephant can be seen below.
In 2009 as well, a light pink-skinned baby elephant was spotted in Botswana by a wildlife photographer.
Thus, we concluded that the bright pink elephant seen in the photo was not real. It was a digitally altered image. At the same time, we confirmed that while some elephants can be born pale pink, there are no species of bright pink elephants.
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