Whale of a Bad Idea Found Out

In Monday ‘Lectronic, we ran a sensational photo of a whale and a dolphin frolicking together, said to have been taken near Punta Mita by a cruiser. We asked our readers if anybody knew if this interspecies behavior is common. As a result, inquisitive reader C.M. White did some research on the internet, and found . . . that the photo wasn’t taken by the person who was said to have taken it, and had been taken in Hawaii rather than Mexico! One of the things that fooled us was that the background indeed looked more like Punta Mita than Hawaii. It turns out that the photo was taken by Lori Mazzuca, and won first place for Professionals in the Mammal category of the National Wildlife Awards photo competition.

So we did a little investigation, and it turns out that the woman who was said to have taken the photo knew nothing about it, nor did the owner of the boat it was said to have been taken from. It was all a poorly thought out joke by someone who didn’t realize how many people would be embarassed as a result. The moral of the story is not to make false claims on behalf of other people. This is especially true on the internet, because your chances of being found out are very high.

Our sincerest apologies to those who were set up, and to photographer Lori Mazzuca. If you visit www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/natures_best_2006/gallery/humpbackwhaleanddolphin.html, there’s an interesting explanation of the circumstances in which she took the photo. You’ll no longer find the photo on ‘Lectronic, because we took it down.