In April 2021, a video went viral on TikTok that supposedly showed a "chipmunk pig," new hybrid animal that was created by breeding a chipmunk with a pig.
While this video originated with an account dubbed "Official TikTok Science," this video is officially a joke. The @officialtiktokscience account states in its bio that it is a "satire" account:
This TikTok account used footage from a variety of sources in order to create their "chipmunk pig hybrid" video. For example, the footage near the end of the video showing this "chipmunk pig" eating from a small jar of food comes form a 2017 news story about an abandoned baby boar — not a chipmunk pig — who was nursed back to health by the Vale Wildlife Hospital in the United Kingdom.
Metro reported at the time:
A wild baby boar who was found just hours from death after being abandoned by its mother has been nursed back to health – and it’s all thanks to some lovely rice pudding.
The adorable boar, named Piggie by its rescuers, was spotted shivering by a road of a store in Cinderford by shop owner Alan Bowkett. He was kept warm until rescuers arrived and took him back to Vale WIldlife Hospital.
"He was found at the side of the road with his umbilical cord still attached and still soaking wet from birth so he can’t have been much more than a few hours old," said a spokesperson for Vale Wildlife Hospital.
Here's the original footage from the Caters News Agency:
This video shows a baby pigs that has markings similar to a chipmunk. It does not show a hybrid animal that was created in a lab.
Videos and photographs purporting to show "hybrid" animals have proved popular on social media for years. We've previously investigated claims regarding these alleged lab created animals, and found that a "half-human, half-lion" creature was actually a silicone doll, a “human-dog hybrid” was actually a sculpture, a “goat-person” was just a deformed goat, and a “gorilla-human” was a doctored image.
The @OfficialTikTokScience account (again, which is not an "official" source for credible scientific information, but rather a satire account) appears to be taking advantage of the internet's desire to see strange new hybrid animals. This account has also made satirical videos featuring odd combinations of animals that include an owl and frog, a jelly fish and pig, a cat and and raccoon, a pig and dog, and an electric eel and squirrel.