Researchers sometimes attach GPS tracking devices to wild animals to learn more about their behavior. Some social media users are sharing a map that they claim shows the flight path of one eagle over 20 years.
"This map shows the movement of an eagle over a period of twenty years," reads the caption of a Nov. 2 Instagram post featuring the map. "It had the tracker fitted in Russia and it finally died twenty years later in the Valley of the Child in Saudi Arabia. It is very interesting to see just how far this Eagle travelled (sic) over its twenty years of life and the great distances it travelled (sic) crossing many countries."
The map shows an array of lines tracing as far north as Kazakhstan and as far south as Sudan
In addition to the map, the post's reel included a picture of a dead eagle with a GPS tracking device attached to its back. It also includes a picture of a live eagle with a similar device attached.
The post garnered nearly 70,000 likes in less than a month. Similar claims also spread on Facebook.
But the post is wrong. The map shows the movements of around 20 eagles over several months, according to the researcher tracking the birds.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the post for comment.
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