Another Epic Wyoming April Fool’s Day Prank
Yesterday, we recounted the tale of sportscaster Dick Enberg's legendary Wyoming State Porcupines April Fool's Day prank in the late 70's. Here's another Cowboy State hoax that duped the national press.
In 2005, Afton author Maury Jones issued a fake news release about wolves in Yellowstone National Park.
The fabricated story quoted then Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal telling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to "go to hell". The bogus article also quoted Freudenthal referring to wolves as "feral dogs".
Months later, the former Governor's fictitious quotes ended up on the front page of the Los Angeles Times and caused an uproar with animal rights advocates across the country.
The Governor's office quickly disavowed the story. The following day, Los Angeles Times editors published a retraction and apologized for the error.
In an interview with the Casper Tribune, Jones, the author of the fake news release, joked about the reaction. "How long is that April Fool's joke going to keep going? I never thought I'd get this kind of reaction. But it's got some legs."
Eleven years later, it ranks among the greatest April Fool's Day pranks in Wyoming history.