TimeBinder

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Strange animals: real or AI?Can you spot the AI animal?

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. Six side-by-side photographs of odd animals and creatures. In each pair, one is a real animal or specimen and one is AI.

Your score is worked out in your browser. Real photos are CC0 or public-domain photographs. The AI images were made for this quiz and show no real person.

Pick the AI photo in each pair

Tap the photo you think is AI-generated. You will see the answer and a tip straight away.

Takes about 2 minutes. Your score is worked out in your browser and is not tied to your name.

Six rounds. Two animal photos each. One is AI.

Each round shows two photographs of an unusual animal or specimen, such as a saiga, a sand puppy or a shoebill. One shows a real animal. The other was generated by AI and shows an invented creature, not a real species. Pick the one you think is AI, then see what gave it away.

  • The real photos are CC0 or public-domain photographs from Wikimedia Commons, listed with photographer and licence at the bottom of this page. No real people are shown, and no logos or brands are used.
  • The AI images were made for this quiz from text descriptions, not as copies of the real photographs. Both sides were cropped to the same shape. Sides are shuffled every time you play.

Can you tell AI strange animals photos from real ones by looking? The short answer

Often not. Odd animal pictures are the kind of image that gets shared with a surprising caption and no source. This quiz uses no news photo, no real person and no named brand. It is a practice test only.

Spotting by eye is unreliable. TimeBinder is not a tool for identifying generated media. A TimeBind shows only that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy you hold still matches it. This quiz cannot check a photo you found online or a file you hold.

Five clues in animal photos, and why none is proof

These are the habits that showed up in the quiz. They are worth knowing, but each one fails often enough that you should never settle a “is this photo real?” question on them alone.

  1. A creature that looks plausible but is anatomically off. Legs, jaws or fingers that do not add up. Real animals have odd anatomy too.
  2. Skin, fur or feathers that are too smooth. Even texture all over, with no dirt, damp or damage. Real animals in clean light can look like this.
  3. Perfect symmetry. Gills, horns or limbs that match left and right more than a real animal in a real pose would. Real specimens can be symmetrical.
  4. A scene that looks arranged for sharing. An unusual animal pairing in strong light. Real zoos have odd pairings too.
  5. A look that is too clean. A tank, a bone mount or a macro shot with every highlight in place. Real specialist photographers do this on purpose.

All five get weaker once an image is cropped, compressed and re-shared, which is how most people see photos online. If a photograph matters later, the stronger record is the original file and when it existed, not a guess from the way it looks.

If a photo matters, keep a record of the original

When a photo is questioned, an argument about how it looks goes nowhere. A better question is whether you can show the exact original file and when it existed.

  1. Keep the original file untouched. Do not edit or re-save it. Work on copies.
  2. Make a TimeBind when you take or finish it. Your browser makes the SHA-256 fingerprint, and the file stays on your device. TimeBinder records the fingerprint with a time on the Bitcoin blockchain.
  3. Keep the file and the Proof of Time Certificate together.
  4. Check later with the file comparison checker. A copy that still matches is the same file. One that does not match is a different file.
Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it does not. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy shown later still matches its fingerprint. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, that its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make or edit it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Image credits and licences

Every real photo is either a CC0 dedication or marked public domain on Wikimedia Commons, which permits reuse and modification. They show real animals (an axolotl, an aye-aye skeleton in a museum, a saiga, a sand puppy, a shoebill and a Malayan tapir). The AI images were generated by TimeBinder for this quiz from text descriptions. They show invented, animal-like creatures and are not records of any real species or individual. Real photos were cropped to a 4:3 frame, and the AI images were cropped to the same shape, so image size and shape do not give the answer away. All image metadata (EXIF) was removed from both sides.

The real photographs used in the Strange animals: real or AI? quiz
SubjectReal photo sourceLicencePhotographer / uploader
A dark salamander in an aquariumWikimedia CommonsCC0Gameraquai
A museum skeleton on a logWikimedia CommonsCC0Crawdad Blues
An antelope in profileWikimedia CommonsCC0Лариса Артемьева
A desert arachnid close upWikimedia CommonsPublic domainUSFWS Mountain Prairie
A tall grey bird with a huge billWikimedia CommonsCC0Bildflut
A tapir asleep beside a peacockWikimedia CommonsCC0Paboks

If you would rather try mushrooms, the free Mushrooms: real or AI? quiz is six rounds of real photographs against invented AI mushrooms. It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

If you would rather try underwater life, the free Underwater photos: real or AI? quiz is six rounds of real photographs against AI images. It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

Strange animals: real or AI? quiz: FAQ

How does the Strange animals: real or AI? quiz work?

You get 6 rounds. Each shows two photographs side by side. One is a real photograph and one was generated by AI. Tap the one you think is AI, see which was which, read what gave it away, and get a score you can share. There are 6 rounds because the quiz has 6 photo pairs, and each is used once per game.

Where do the real photos come from?

They are CC0 or public-domain photographs from Wikimedia Commons, listed with the photographer and licence in the image credits table on this page. The AI images were generated by TimeBinder for this quiz from text descriptions, not as copies of the real photographs. Both sides were cropped to the same 4:3 shape and stripped of metadata so that size and shape do not give the answer away. No real people are shown.

Are the AI animals real species?

No. The AI images show invented, animal-like creatures made for this quiz. Some resemble real animals, such as an axolotl, a shoebill or a saiga, but they are not photographs of those animals and should not be used to learn what the real species look like. The real photographs are labelled as real in the quiz.

Why this topic?

Odd animal pictures are the kind of image that gets shared with a surprising caption and no source. This quiz is a visual practice test. It cannot tell you whether a photo you found online is real.

Can people tell AI photos from real ones by looking?

Often not. Clues such as odd lettering, over-smooth texture, too-perfect symmetry or a very tidy composition help on a still image, but they are hints, not proof, and each one also appears in real photographs. They fade once a photo is cropped, filtered or re-shared.

Does TimeBinder tell me whether a photo is AI-made?

No. TimeBinder is not a tool for identifying generated media, and it cannot tell you whether AI made a file. A TimeBind shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy you hold still matches it. That is useful when you can say “here is this file, recorded by this time,” not when you need to know how the picture was made.

Do you store my score or answers?

Your score is worked out in your browser. This page sends a few anonymous events to our analytics, such as the quiz being finished with a score band, never your name or email.

How can I show a photo is the file I kept?

Keep the original file unedited, and make a TimeBind of it when you take or finish it. Later, a copy that still matches the fingerprint is the same file, and the record shows it existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show who took it, how it was made, or who holds the copyright. Read how to prove a photo is not AI for the honest limits.

Related guides and tools

Date the original photo before it gets copied

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact file you hold.

  1. Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
  2. Add your files. They stay on your computer.
  3. Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.
Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.