Claim: Pakistani authorities hunted and killed a werewolf in Balochistan. However, some social media posts claim the mythical creature was found in Punjab’s Sialkot and Kashmir.
Fact: Pakistani authorities did not kill a werewolf. The images being shared on social media feature an animatronic sculpture created by SFX artist Joseph-Rob Cobasky.
[Content warning: Pictures in this story may be upsetting for some]
In the first week of June 2021, pictures and videos apparently showing a bloody, wolf-like animal began making rounds on social media. These images were shared with captions that claim a werewolf was hunted down and killed by Pakistani authorities in Khuzdar, Sialkot, and Kashmir.
In the videos circulating on social media, a wolf-like animal with a hairy torso is seen lying on a bed, breathing heavily, with its mouth bloody and jaw wide open. In other clips, it is seen on the ground, giving the impression that it was recently killed.
Multiple YouTube channels shared the clips as well, claiming it spread fear among the locals. Three channels claiming the creature was hunted down in Sialkot collectively garnered more than 23,000 views. One alleging the killing occurred in Balochistan raked in over 4,500 views while another asserting it was in Khuzdar was viewed over 4,000 times.
Twitter users share claims that a “werewolf” was killed in Pakistan.
On Twitter, however, some claimed that the “wolf was killed in a zahri area of Balochistan”, while others were of the opinion that the creature was “killed by security forces in Pakistan”.
YouTubers in their videos made various assertions about the “werewolf”, with one claiming that “locals killed a dangerous wild animal” in a “deserted place of Balochistan”, another terming it a “wolf man”, and a third saying it was “killed by Pak rangers in Sialkot”. A fourth YouTube channel went as far as to attach pictures of three commandos in the video.
YouTube users leave comments on videos of a “werewolf hunted and killed in Pakistan”, saying the creature was captured in an area they know.
Many comments on the YouTube videos included further dubious claims, with users saying the “werewolf” was killed in Buner, Minchinabad, Bahawalnagar, Mansehra, and Waziristan.
Soch Fact Check was sent one such post for verification and decided to investigate the claims.
A Google Reverse Image Search of the images and screenshots from the video clips showed that the creature is not real. These pictures show a sculpture created by Joseph-Rob Cobasky, an SFX and sculpture artist.
The first picture shows Cobasky posing with one of his creations; the rest of the screenshots are from Cobasky’s Instagram profile, showing various posts about the animatronic sculpture that they made for a film.
The creature in question is created by Cobasky to be used in an unnamed film. The mold-maker shared a behind-the-scenes look on Facebook, wherein a film crew and an actor were seen with the animatronic sculpture. Images of the creature appear on the artist’s Instagram account as early as 23 November 2020.</p?>
View this post on Instagram
Furthermore, The Quint also published a story on the same claims on its Webqoof fact-checking website.
Conclusion: There’s no truth to the reports that Pakistani security forces or villagers hunted and killed a werewolf-like creature. The false claims originated from the videos and images posted by SFX artist Joseph-Rob Cobasky.