Ai-generated fake wildlife videos threaten conservation efforts as deepfakes fool experts and public

A shocking video of a lioness running across a busy road in Djibouti recently captivated local conservationists—until experts revealed it was entirely fake. Houssein Rayaleh, CEO of Djibouti Nature, received the footage from an ecotourism guide and initially believed it showed the miraculous return of lions to a country where they’ve been extinct for decades. The video was so convincing that Rayaleh forwarded it to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Cat Specialist Group for verification.

However, wildlife experts quickly identified telltale signs of AI manipulation. Urs Breitenmoser, co-chair of the IUCN group, noted the lion’s unnatural behavior and morphological inconsistencies that marked it as artificially generated. Luke Hunter from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s big cats program described the video as “obviously very fake” to trained eyes, though he acknowledged that ordinary viewers would struggle to spot the deception.

The incident highlights a growing concern in conservation circles: AI-generated wildlife footage is becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect. These fake videos can spread rapidly through social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp, potentially misleading the public about species populations and conservation successes. For Rayaleh, the damage may already be done, as the false lion sighting circulated widely across Djibouti before being debunked.

As deepfake technology continues advancing, conservationists worry that distinguishing authentic wildlife documentation from AI-generated content will become nearly impossible, potentially undermining legitimate conservation efforts and scientific research.