The illusive manaphin

Yesterday was April 1st, often known as April Fool’s Day. (Our post on a dramatic man overboard rescue was definitively not a spoof.) Yesterday “Visit St Pete-Clearwater” issued a press release about a recent sighting of the legendary “Manaphin” in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Pinellas County, Florida. The manaphin is a dolphin-manatee hybrid, according to the press release and an associated Manaphin web site.  From the press release:

Kayaker Doug Lamal was about 20 yards from shore last Friday afternoon when the creature’s distinctive head broke the surface of the water. “I’ve seen both manatees and dolphins many times,” said the 34-year old Chicagoan. “But this was different—the thing moved like a dolphin but had the head of a manatee. It was pretty cool.”

“To have a sighting of one of these hybrid mammals anywhere is an extraordinary thing,” said Clearwater Marine Aquarium Marine Mammal Trainer John Widick. “But to have a sighting of one this far up in the Gulf of Mexico is truly remarkable and speaks to the cleanliness of the waters in the Gulf of Mexico—and the fact that mother nature has the final say in whether something is extinct.”

The April Fool’s hoax was picked up by media around the world including London’s Daily Telegraph which called it one of the travel industry’s top pranks. The hashtags #manaphin and #savethemanaphin also began trending on Twitter.   And yes, manaphin t-shirts are reported to be available soon.   Thanks to Ann Brown for pointing out the story.  Let’s hope that the Discovery Channel doesn’t catch wind of this. It might prompt another round of fake documentaries. 

Manaphin is a hoax, but marketing is real for Pinellas beaches