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A picture of a bizarre-looking creature called an Algerian gorilla fish has gone viral and sent social media users into a state of confusion. However, many are convinced that the giant creature is not real.
The viral photo has generated several different theories as well as fantasy stories. The enormous creature was allegedly captured by a man from Central Trinidad earlier this month. In the photo, the man stands on a canoe while holding the creature in hand, which has the body of a seal, but with large fins and the face of a gorilla.
If one looks at the photo carefully, one can deduce that it has been photoshopped. The man in the canoe was probably holding something else in his hands. The doctored image is almost believable, so the internet was left baffled. However, the an Algerian gorilla fish does not exist in reality.
Although the exact source of the image is unclear, it was reposted by some popular profiles on both Twitter and Instagram, after which it blew out of proportion and received thousands of views and likes.
Internet users share their bizarre theories while reacting to the viral Algerian gorilla fish
A popular Twitter profile @rahsh33m shared the image of the made-up creature on April 17, 2023. The tweet gained 39.6K likes and over 4K retweets. People in the replies had come up with hilarious reactions to the strange creature. Some replied with their own bizarre facts about the animal to play along with the joke.
On April 19, the same image was also reposted on Instagram by Mike Holston, an exotic animal specialist. He is also a zookeeper at Florida's Zoological Wildlife Foundation of Mario and Maria Tabraue in Miami. He goes by the username @therealtarzann on Instagram. All his posts are on different kinds of animals and facts about them.
To add to the sarcasm, Mike also penned an innovative and hilarious caption. In fact, he is the one who named the creature “Algerian gorilla fish.” He said that it is an adult male and although a normal male gorilla fish usually gets about 3-4 feet, the one captured in the image was eating baby whales all winter. Thus, it is maximized in size.
Mike added that these male fish lay 34 eggs on land and turn bright to attract their female variant during mating season. The Algerian gorilla fish only travels in packs in the month of September, when El Niño reaches its maximum velocity. Mike continued that gorilla fish usually have a life span of 13 years. However, he concluded his caption with the most fake yet farcical fact that if a male gorilla fish is circumcised, it can live up to 48 years.
After Mike reposted the viral image of the Algerian gorilla fish, his followers were confused. Some wrote in the comments that they had to check Google to be certain whether or not a creature exists.
However, one Twitter user, @The_Real_Los_, replied to the viral tweet from @rahsh33m and shared a picture of the Coelacanth fish, which seems to have a similar body to that of the viral gorilla fish. The user sarcastically named the viral fish Goerillacanth.
Whoever altered the image had probably mixed a seal, a coelacanth, and a gorilla to create the peculiar Algerian gorilla fish, which does not exist in reality.
