After Chandrapur, deepfake wildlife scare hits Pune district

Forest officials quickly traced the image to Dattatray Vinayak Minde, who admitted it was AI-generated

After incidents in Chandrapur, the Pune Forest Department is now facing a new kind of wildlife scare, this time, a deepfake. On November 10, a viral image claiming to show a tiger on a farm in Mangrul village, Junnar taluka, sparked panic among locals already wary of frequent leopard sightings.

The department confirmed the photo was a forgery and urged citizens not to trust or share unverified wildlife visuals. (HT)

Forest officials quickly traced the image to Dattatray Vinayak Minde, who admitted it was AI-generated. The department confirmed the photo was a forgery and urged citizens not to trust or share unverified wildlife visuals.

Smita Rajhans, assistant conservator of forests, Junnar Forest Division, said, “Such misinformation can create unnecessary fear and disturb social harmony. In this case, the forest department issued only a warning to the minor responsible, as the act was not found to be intentional.”

This was not an isolated incident in Pune. Earlier last week, a similar case was reported from Nasrapur.

Pandurang Gutte, a forest guard at Nasrapur, said, “Around 8–10 days ago, we received information about a viral video showing three leopards roaming in a residential area. The clip caused panic as it surfaced soon after the Shirur leopard incident. Upon investigation with local residents, we found that a few youngsters had created the video using AI tools and circulated it. They were issued a warning for their misconduct.”

This follows a similar case in Chandrapur earlier this month, highlighting the rising misuse of AI in creating fake wildlife content. Officials have appealed to the public and media to verify sightings through official channels to prevent panic and misinformation.

When asked about the legal provisions applicable in such incidents, Cyber Police Inspector Swapnali Shinde said, “A case can be registered if the Forest Department or any individual files a complaint. Once registered, the video will be investigated, and if it is uploaded online, it can be removed. However, if the video goes viral on WhatsApp, tracing the source becomes difficult.”

Another police official added that individuals found guilty of creating or circulating such fake content could face fines or imprisonment of up to one year for offences related to forgery, misleading authorities, or creating public panic.