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Tasmanian Mock Walrus


Why not spend April Fools learning about an animal that doesn't even exist? Meet the Tasmanian Mock Walrus, a hoax animal that caused quite a bit of confusion way back on Aprils Fools Days, 1984.

As a joke, the Orlando Sentinel ran a story about the Tasmanian Mock Walrus, a 4in long creature that was the absolute perfect pet! It looked like a tiny Walrus! It could be littler box trained! It purrs like a cat and can even keep your house Cockroach free!

The story even contained a photo of one of the little guys, who were being bred in the United States for the first time by a couple down in Florida. Allegedly, the Pest Control industry was harassing this couple, as they were afraid they would lose business because of these new miracle pets!

So what was the little animal behind the newspaper prank? Just a regular old Naked Mole Rat. The story resulted in a flood of calls and letters to both the newspaper, and to Florida pet stores. It even made its way around the world! The demand was quite high for a creature that was completely made up!
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