By Greg May - In her book, American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America
Linda Godfrey devotes a chapter to ‘Pinky’, the St. John’s River monster that has been sighted on numerous occasions since the 1950’s. “Pinky’ has been described as looking like a manatee, a hippopotamus and a dinosaur. Godfrey suggests it may have been a pink freshwater dolphin native to the Amazon River of South America that could have been released into the river “in this day and age of rampant illegal trade in exotic animals”. If this is the case, it would have had to be released before the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Known as the ‘boto’, the pink dolphin is surrounded by myths and legends in its native waters of South America and is believed to be able to change into human form in order to seduce human females who venture too close to the water’s edge.In 1966 the now-defunct Marineland of Florida made an expedition to Iquitos, Peru to collect Amazon freshwater dolphins (Inia geoffrensis). But as early as 1956, two pink dolphins were exhibited in a river-front pen at Florida’s Silver Springs on the Silver River – a branch of the St. John’s. The pair were cared for by Ricou Browning, the Man in the Monster Suit for the movie, Creature From the Black Lagoon
that was filmed at Marineland (then known as ‘Marine Studios’). Browning later became the director of the ‘Flipper’ TV series filmed at the Miami Seaquarium during the 60’s.One of the two pink dolphins died and was mounted by a taxidermist where it greeted visitors with its cetacean smile at the log cabin-entrance to the Ross Allen Reptile Institute – one of the attractions at Silver Springs. But what happened to the other one?
Before he was sent ‘up the river’ for alleged drug smuggling, animal collector Mike Tsalikis went down on the Amazon River to capture pink dolphins for zoos and aquariums back in the 50’s. In fact, he kept an 8-foot female named ‘Pandora’ in a pool at his Tarpon Zoo on the west coast of Florida.
But ‘Pinky’s’ actual identity is more erotic than exotic.
When I saw the video for the TV series’ ‘Monsters’ during their treatment of the St. John’s River monster, I couldn’t believe it! The videos or footage of the monster were nothing more than Florida manatees (Trichecus manatus) that are found year round in the St. John’s River. During cool weather they congregate at the many springs where the water temperature stays at a constant 72 degrees.
Male manatees often roll over at the surface displaying their elongated, erect pink penises that would make a male porn star turn green with envy...so, ‘Pinky’ is actually the ventral side of a horny male manatee displaying its manliness during the Sirenia mating season.
Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest
The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation
Flipper - The Original Series, Season 1
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