A tiger isn't on the loose in Jacksonville, but a hoax about one is | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: A tiger is on the loose near Jacksonville, Florida

A March 13 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows two photos of a tiger lying down in shallow water next to tall grass.

"Residents of Middleburg were left on edge after reports surfaced of a tiger sighting in the wooded area behind the Winn Dixie in the Grand Ole Plaza," the caption reads, referring to a town near Jacksonville, Florida. "Authorities have issued warnings for residents to remain vigilant and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities until the situation is under control."

The post was shared more than 900 times in a week.

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Our rating: False

No tiger was found in Middleburg. Law enforcement and wildlife officials confirmed the claim was baseless. This is the latest in a series of false claims about tiger sightings around the U.S. in recent years.

Tiger photos have been wrongly attributed to other cities as well

Abbegail Harris, spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, told USA TODAY the claim is false. Harris noted the department debunked the claim in a March 13 Facebook post as well.

The Facebook post that made the claim said the tiger may have escaped from Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens or the Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary. Emily Long, spokesperson for the Jacksonville Zoo, told USA TODAY that a tiger did not escape that facility, and the zoo is not aware of any other local facilities with such an escape. A spokesperson for Catty Shack did not respond to a request for comment.

Ashlee Brahier Sklute, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, also told USA TODAY the agency did "not have any confirmed sightings of a tiger in or around the Jacksonville area."

“This appears to be a social media hoax,” Sklute said.

Indeed, the claim has spread widely. Posts spreading on Facebook include the same pictures while identifying them as coming from Alabama, Louisiana, New York and elsewhere. News agencies in San Antonio and Oklahoma debunked claims with the same pictures in March.

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TinEye, a reverse image search tool, shows the pictures of the tiger have been in circulation since at least 2019. Back then, the Houston Chronicle was one of the newsrooms that debunked the rumor, dispelling claims that the tiger had been spotted along the Rio Grande. The pictures first started circulating in Mexico, the Chronicle reported.

The Facebook page that shared the photos was created just a day before sharing the false claim. When contacted, the user provided no evidence the claim was true.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claim about escaped tiger has circulated for years | Fact check