Are squirrels really vaping in London?

Viral footage of a squirrel appearing to vape in a London park has sparked worry from animal groups.

Footage taken in Brixton this weekend showed the animal holding an e-cigarette and nibbling on the mouthpiece.

But not everyone was convinced – with many people believing the video was AI.

Nick Knupffer, Co-founder of VerifyLabs.AI, helped verify the video’s authenticity for Metro.

He said: ‘These viral images of squirrels ‘vaping’ in this scenario are likely authentic. We have run images found on X, Instagram, and Facebook through our analysis tools, and the images can be classed as authentic with almost absolute certainty.’

Knupffer said many AI videos of animals feature ‘physics-defying moments’, like fur that blurs unnaturally, merged limbs or lack of joints.

‘Lighting is another major giveaway; AI often struggles to render accurate specular reflections in an animal’s eyes or consistent shadows on complex textures like grass or feathers. In this case, none of these immediate red flags was observed by our team,’ he said.

‘In this instance, the videos and images are likely legitimate and serve as a reminder of modern humanity’s effect on the natural world.’

Dr Marco Ramilli, CEO and Co-Founder, identifAI, also confirmed the video is real.

‘The question of whether these videos are AI or not, however, raises two important points in relation to synthetic content,’ he said.

‘Firstly, the prevalence of deepfakes and AI-manipulated videos is clearly imbuing a sense of scepticism in online communities, even when it relates to content that is likely real.

‘While the videos we have seen are real, it is likely only a matter of time before we see deepfake content emerge of squirrels vaping, which will cloud the analysis of the original videos and make objective assessments of the truth less convincing.’

The video, confirmed to be authentic, prompted the RSPCA to speak out about the dangers that discarded litter poses.

It’s still not known if the squirrel was managing to puff on the vape or just trying to eat the fruit-flavoured vape liquid.

Craig Shuttleworth, a red squirrel expert at Bangor University, told the Telegraph: ‘In the old days, you’d see lots of discarded cigarette butts, but I don’t remember squirrels running around with them.

‘It would be reasonable to assume that a vape would be more attractive than a normal tobacco product that’s not fruity.

‘You don’t want animals ingesting nicotine. They don’t encounter nicotine in the wild, so like many chemicals, it’s something you don’t want them exposed to.

‘Eating a vape isn’t part of their natural diet. The components aren’t something they encounter in nature. They could gnaw at it and consume some of the microplastics.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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