A Southern California resident has admitted to police that a reported sighting of one of the world’s deadliest snakes was an AI-generated hoax.
Santa Ana Police, 31 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, spent Monday hunting for a suspected Gaboon viper after a caller reported spotting the African reptile in a backyard tree along Cypress Avenue. Reptile experts joined the search and combed the neighborhood near Main Street and Edinger Avenue, but found no trace of the snake or any evidence it had ever been present.
Investigators followed up Tuesday with the original caller, who provided the photograph that had sparked the alarm. The person then admitted the image was created with artificial intelligence and that the entire report was fabricated.
“AI-generated images can look very real, and when false information is shared as fact, it can quickly create unnecessary fear, confusion, and concern in our community,” the Santa Ana Police Department wrote in an Instagram post about the case.
Police had already suspected the image might be AI-generated when they first reviewed it Monday. Department policy still required a full investigation of the reported threat, and officers issued a public warning while the search was underway.
“We have received reports of a snake believed to be a Gaboon Viper, last seen in a tree within a residential neighborhood near Main Street and Edinger Avenue,” police wrote in a Facebook post at the time. “Gaboon Vipers are highly venomous and are not native to North America.”
The hoax exploited genuine public anxiety about an exotic species that poses a legitimate danger wherever it appears. Gaboon vipers rank as the heaviest venomous snakes in Africa, weighing up to 18 pounds according to Britannica. Their fangs extend up to 1.6 inches, the longest of any snake species. The heavy-bodied predators carry tan, purple, and brown geometric patterning across their scales, a velvet-like design that provides flawless camouflage against African forest floors.
Native only to sub-Saharan Africa, Gaboon vipers have no established wild population in North America. Their distinctive appearance and lethal reputation made the fabricated sighting particularly alarming to residents unfamiliar with the region’s actual snake species.
The incident marks another instance of AI-generated imagery disrupting public safety operations, with police resources deployed to investigate a threat that existed only in pixels. The department has not announced whether the hoax caller will face charges for filing a false report.