Every now and then comes a story you care so deeply about, it makes even the most harden-shelled journalists sit up and take nose-tice.
Enter Funzo; the pig-nosed turtle who resides at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. To celebrate Funzo’s 28th birthday on Tuesday, the aquarium tweeted an inoffensive picture of Funzo and wished him a happy day to their 50,000+ followers.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
But because this is Twitter, before Funzo knew it, he was being trolled.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
https://twitter.com/ReviewerSpell/status/1478853569310642177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1478853569310642177%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbaltimore.cbslocal.com%2F2022%2F01%2F05%2Fnational-aquarium-turtle-funzo-baltimore-twitter%2F
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
And after a day the National Aquarium were having to tweet things like this:
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
Soon, an all-out culture war begun and people were swearing their allegiance to #TeamFunzo
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
And mere hours ago, Funzo’s care team showed their support on the front line:
This tweet is unavailable or no longer exists.
Ashleigh Clews, Curator at the Animal Care and Rescue Center even released this statement:
“National Aquarium’s long-term and lovable resident Funzo has always enjoyed a lot of attention but was not quite ready for his unexpected moments in the spotlight this week! The incredibly caring staff at our Animal Care and Rescue Center feel fortunate to work with Funzo and all of the other individuals animals that call the National Aquarium home," she continues. "Pig-nosed turtles are considered endangered and like other species have pressures like illegal capture for the pet trade greatly affecting their population. Funzo and the staff at the Aquarium welcome every opportunity to engage with interested fans – and even those who maybe aren’t fans at first! We couldn’t be more pleased with the outpouring of support for our beloved pig-nosed turtle friend, Funzo!" #TeamFunzo
This story is still developing, but as this Tweet from the National Aquarium stated pig-nosed turtles are the sole surviving members of their entire family (Carettochelyidae) which reaches back around 140 million years (70 million years before the extinction of the dinos).
So maybe we’re the weird ones, not Funzo. #JusticeForFunzo #FunzoDeservesBetter #TeamFunzo