Endangered Tree Octopus

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is an endangered species, and a famous internet hoax; created by Lyle Zapato in 1998. This website is now used as a test by seventh grade teachers who want their students to figure out on their own that this is a fake. Unfortunately, this website is so well-made that most students would fail at recognizing the bias. Possibly the most believable part of this website is the "Sightings" tab, where Zapato would post other people's "sightings" of this rare Pacific Northwest creature. The first post dates back to August 27, 2002 when a canopy researcher from Australia, Yoav Daniel Bar-ness, emails Zapato about his amazing finding. He claims he "saw it from above, on rope at perhaps 30 meters. It was maybe 12 meters below me," and even asks that if Zapato believes it is a subspecies for him to name it "Octopus paxarbolis var. cascadii." Since then he has posted, 15 more "sightings" most with picture proof making it more believable, although the photo-shop in most of the pictures could use some work. [1 image, 2 links, 2 quotations, 179 words]