Seagull Flies Off With Video Camera - But Is It A Hoax? (VIDEO)

WATCH: Seagull Flies Off With Video Camera - But Is It A Hoax?

The internets have been getting very excited this week over the YouTube video above - in which a seagull appears to fly off with a tourist's video camera, filming its ensuing flight before depositing the camera safely on the ground.

It is, indeed, a pretty awesome minute of film - complete with a San Francisco sunset - but is it genuine?

According to hoax-busters Life's Little Mysteries, it could be a marketing hoax to promote the camera in question - a GoPro.

"Another seagull in Cannes, France, supposedly filmed a different scenic and highly viral video, uploaded on June 23, 2011, with the exact same brand of camera before also depositing that camera in a retrievable location," they report. "The separate owners of those two seagull-borne cameras seem to have independently chosen to feature the brand name of their cameras in the title of their YouTube videos."

And, notes the site, another supposed GoPro owner posted a video in May 2011, in which a lioness picks up the camera with her mouth and carries it through the bush. "That video now has over 400,000 views and includes information on where to buy GoPros in its description."

Hmm. So is it a great little marketing campaign - or simply proof that the animal kingdom really, really has a thing for GoPro cameras? Either way, we're loving your work, guys.

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