Justin Hofman’s southern elephant seal image is remarkable: head out of the water, snout pointed skyward, bulbous eyes staring into the lens, whiskers probing….
But apparently the image, shared recently via Instagram, was not remarkable enough. Somebody doctored the photo, without permission, to give the massive pinniped an even more comical appearance.
Can you tell which of the images posted above is the original? (Answer revealed in social media posts below.)
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Hofman told For The Win Outdoors that the image he shared three weeks ago was captured in 2011 in Antarctica. The post garnered nearly 12,000 likes and was widely shared on marine mammal-themed social media pages.
However, the photoshopped version went viral thanks to multiple appearances on Imgur and Reddit, with no photographer attribution. The image also circulated via Twitter and Facebook, and many were fooled into thinking it was unaltered.
As viewers can see, the doctored version features what looks like a mouth and nose beneath the eyes. Other tweaks to the whiskered area make it appear as though the mammal is wearing a hairpiece, while its human-like face stares into the camera.
In the original photo, the mouth and chin are on the other side of the seal’s head, facing away from the camera. Viewers are looking at the top of the head.
This shrewd manipulation was carried out without permission of the photographer. However, when reached over the weekend, Hofman seemed to be a good sport.
“The Internet is a lawless place, but I don’t really mind it,” he said. “It’s all done with good intentions and I appreciate anything that makes people laugh.”
