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Is This Video Of A Hawk Throwing A Snake At A Family In Melbourne Real?

The guy who filmed it reckons it is, but we're not convinced.

UPDATE:Hawthorn AFL Club has announced it partnered with The Woolshed to create the fake video in an attempt to create buzz around their 2016 finals campaign. They did not, however, explain why they lied to us when we attempted to verify the video's authenticity.

ORIGINAL STORY:

It's not every day a video of a hawk throwing a snake at a family picnic surfaces online, but when it does two thoughts come to mind. The immediate response is NOPE, and then you wonder, wait, is this even real?

A YouTube user going by the name of Douglas Wong, 22, who has no other videos listed on his profile, claims the hawk dropped the snake on his uncle last weekend while they were enjoying a picnic along the Yarra River in Melbourne.

"So funny ... bird dropped snake on my uncle last weekend," the video description reads.

When The Huffington Post Australia reached out to Wong for comment, he said his inbox was "already very busy" but was happy to respond to questions from his university lecture "with a sneaky email" because he "can't call during class".

Wong, who claimed to be studying science at RMIT University in Melbourne, insists the footage is real.

"Yes it is real footage."

YouTube user William Joseph isn't so sure, "Here's a protip for you mate, if you are going to fake a video of a bird of prey, make sure to edit out the seagull sitting on the footpath, 100% that seagull would not be there if that hawk was flying around, 0 out of 10, if this was for a school project you should get a F-".

Other users have criticised the fact that the hawk's reflection isn't visible in the river and the varying size of the snake.

"The professional consensus seems to be that, no, it's not real," Emma Goldstone, from Melbourne creative agency Jumbla, told The Age.

"The snake is massive in the last shot, but when the bird supposedly picks it up, you can't even see it. The camera work is too good. Why would a snake be hanging out in short grass in winter?"

But Wong isn't fazed by the allegations. "It doesn't bother me. It is just a funny video so I'm not offended," he said.

So how is Wong's uncle after the whole ordeal?

"He was a bit shaken at the time," Wong said. "We left because I was told that snakes are dangerous here. We laugh about it now, though."

We're not convinced. But happy to hear Wong's uncle isn't traumatised.

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