By Tim Binnall
An odd viral video from Guatemala features what appears to be a gaggle of baby dinosaurs in front of an ancient monument, but the 'prehistoric creatures' are really just a clever illusion. The weird footage, which has drawn comparisons to a scene from the Jurassic Park films, was reportedly posted on social media earlier this month. In the video, several small animals that bear an uncanny resemblance to baby brontosauruses can be seen meandering around in some grass. As one might imagine, the footage had many online viewers doing a double-take at the wondrous sight that ultimately turned out to have a prosaic explanation.
Rather than a group of heretofore undiscovered tiny dinosaurs roaming around Guatemala, the creatures seen in the video are actually coatis, which are small mammals that reside in South and Central America as well as Mexico and the southwestern United States. The reason why the diminutive animals look like baby brontosauruses is because the footage is reversed, which makes it seem as though their tails were their heads. A similarly eyebrow-raising scene of coatis masquerading as tiny dinosaurs dashing along a beach also went viral in 2022. To that end, this more recent video from Guatemala has amassed a staggering 125 million views since appearing online in just a few weeks.