It was all a hoax, but the speculation was sure fun while it lasted. A video of a golden eagle swooping down and snatching a toddler showed up on Youtube Dec. 18 and went viral—it already has more than 5.1 million views.

The minute-long sequence captures the bird of prey, with nearly a six-foot wingspan, circling a park before swooping down and capturing a toddler wearing a winter coat in its talons. The eagle carries the toddler through the air for several feet before dropping it on the grass.

The French-speaking cameraman then curses in English, before running toward the crying child, who appears unhurt physically.

Golden eagles typically hunt small pretty such as rabbits, marmots and squirrels. Most Youtubers were skeptical of the video in their comments, but comments from some experts fueled the hoax. Biologist Ofer Bahat told Ynet he thought the video was authentic. He studied golden eagles in Israel the past four years and said although the incident is rare, professional literature does, in fact, make a few notations regarding similar events.

“I think this was a think this was a young and inexperienced golden eagle,” he said. “The combination of the harsh Canadian winter and its inexperience as a hunter probably made it take this unusual action.”

Bahat speculated that the child was too heavy for the eagle to carry, and the toddler’s thick coat probably spared him more serious injury, as an eagle’s talon is designed to snap the neck of its prey.

Bet he’s eating his words now. According to a blog posted on the Montreal animation school Center NAD Web site, the video was made by Normand Archambault, Loic Mireault and Felix Marquis-Poulin at Center NAD as part of their 3D Animation and Digital Design degree studies.