People who uploaded the viral video of an eagle snatching a toddler reveal if video is real

MONTREAL - A online video showing a swooping eagle snatching a toddler went viral, and now its creators admit it was a fake.

The video was posted on YouTube the night of Dec. 18 and got more than five million views within 24 hours.

After all those clicks and worldwide media attention, the people who posted it online came forward.

It turns out the video was posted by three people, all of which are digital design students at a Montreal school Centre NAD, and it started as a 3D project. Both the Golden Eagle depicted and the lifelike child are not real.

After the attention, the school posted a statement explaining who made the video and that people are not in danger of eagles swooping off with their babies.

The statement can be read here: http://on.wews.com/SYorNZ

Reportedly, the three students got good grades for their much-viewed video.

But some animal rights groups are unhappy with the eagle’s depiction. In a Facebook posing, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory said the video does damage to real birds. The posting can be read here: http://on.wews.com/T9wgy1

The original video can be watched on YouTube here: http://5.wews.com/gdNvk