AKRON, Ohio — No lions escaped from the Akron Zoo, and the zoo’s four African lions never left their habitat, zoo officials said in a social media statement debunking a viral claim built around a fake, AI-generated photo, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
The false image showed a lion standing next to a trash can in Akron and spread online alongside claims that four African lions had escaped their enclosure earlier in the week, Parade reported. The Akron Zoo answered on Saturday, Nov. 7, saying there had recently been inaccurate information about its African lions escaping, including a false AI photo of a lion in Akron, according to Parade’s account of the zoo’s post.
The zoo’s resident lions are Mandisa, Donovan, Kataba and Msinga, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. In its statement, the zoo said its lions remain in the safety of their habitat, the Beacon Journal reported.
The rumor appears to have fed on a real event: the zoo was closed on Wednesday, Nov. 4, for its annual large-scale drill with the Akron Police Department and the Akron Fire Department, 614 Now reported. Whoever created the fake image used that closure to suggest the zoo had shut down because lions had escaped, Parade reported.
The drill itself is routine. The Akron Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and as part of its accreditation requirements it conducts a minimum of four safety drills a year, including dangerous animal escape drills, 614 Now reported, citing the zoo’s statement.
The episode is a reminder of how quickly a fabricated image can outrun the facts. The fake photo gained traction precisely because it arrived attached to a real closure, giving residents a plausible-sounding reason to believe something had gone wrong at the zoo.
Zoo officials said no animals were outside their enclosures and everyone remained safe, Parade reported. The original AI-generated image has since become much harder to find online, according to Parade.
Residents who see alarming animal-escape claims circulating on social media can check the zoo’s own channels for confirmation before sharing them — in this case, the zoo’s word is that all four lions are exactly where they belong.
Photo: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA