Did Coyote Peterson pass away? YouTuber’s death by hippo pod claim debunked

The unconfirmed rumors of YouTuber Nathaniel "Coyote" Peterson’s death surfaced on Facebook recently. 

A post uploaded on VAR South Africa claimed that the wildlife adventurer and educator lost his life in an attack by a hippo pod. The rumors suggested that his crew members accompanied him and also died following an incident captured on a GoPro camera. VAR South Africa’s post read: 

“Brave Wilderness Icon Coyote Peterson and Entire Crew Savagely Attacked to Death by Hippo Pod While Attempting to Navigate Past Them in Tiny Boat on Amazon River This Morning on the Mysterious Negro River – GoPro Dashcam Footage Captures Entire Horrifying Sequence, Global Fans Reeling from Bloody Video, Dive Team Retrieves Mangled Remains from Blood-Soaked Waters in Heartbreaking Recovery Near Manaus, Brazil.” 

While the original poster shared a blog to corroborate their claim, it turned out to be bogus due to the timing of the upload. Coyote Peterson was active on his Instagram around the same time, as he shared a post about his recent video on his YouTube channel, Brave Wilderness. Thus, the claim that the Animal Planet host died turned out to be false. 

VAR South Africa is one of the Facebook pages well-known for posting clickbait posts with fake claims in the past, including the debunked death hoaxes of Paul Rosolie, Ashton Hall, LeBron James, and many more. At the same time, it is not the only page to post about the passing of Coyote Peterson, as another account, Steelers Fans Hub, shared the fake news a few days back. 

The post claimed that the YouTuber passed away after a brown bear attack. Fortunately, Nathaniel Peterson is well and alive and is active on YouTube. In August, he recounted a near-death experience in a video about his Alaskan adventure. 

Coyote Peterson had a near-death experience while rafting with John Gourley in Alaska

In August, Peterson shared a video of his collaboration with Portugal. The Man frontman, John Gourley, on their Alaskan adventure. The video was a part of the “Frances Changed My Life” campaign to support the singer-songwriter’s daughter, who suffers from DHDDS (a rare genetic disorder), and children like her. Peterson announced at the end of the video: 

“To help support Frances, I'm excited to share that proceeds from this episode will be donated to help with critical research to uncover new treatments and therapies for Frances and kids around the world living with rare diseases.”

During the video, the YouTuber also recounted a near-death experience he had while boating. As Coyote recorded the start of his raft ride, the blustery weather made it difficult to travel while maintaining stability. The YouTuber noted that filming during the wind is “definitely not easy.” The Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild host said: 

“Really bouncy, nowhere to mount the camera. I see John [Gourley] back there making some ground, some nice little rapids.”

The on-screen text revealed that the raft used by Peterson capsized, and “he was submerged in life-threatening temperature water.” It continues: 

“After tumbling through rapids and fighting the current, he was able to find footing on a shallow riverbed.” 

While surviving the mishap, Coyote lost one of his main cameras and lost its footage. After making it to the ground, Coyote recorded himself and revealed: 

“All right, well, just got sucked under a tree. [...] Flipped my whole kayak soaking wet, lost the GoPro.That's why I usually tether it. Saved my hat, saved my pack, saved all the footage. Could be a lot colder, but I'm cold. Squeeze out my boots, get back on the water. Good thing is we're almost back.” 

The YouTuber wrapped up his and Gourley’s Alaskan adventure after a visit to a Taco Bell and talking about the fundraiser.