Author Joyce Carol Oates Falls for Fake ‘Hunting Photo’ from ‘Jurassic Park’ Set

Author Joyce Carol Oates is upset by a picture she saw on Twitter of a man posing before a large, downed animal. She sent the following tweet out to her 122,000 followers Tuesday morning:

Oates’ outrage at big game hunting seems a little silly in this case because the man in the photo is director Steven Spielberg, and the downed animal is a prop Triceratops from his film Jurassic Park.

In the 1993 film the main characters played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern get out of the jeep they are riding in when they see the animal being treated by a vet just off the road. The animal is not dead in the scene but merely seems drugged after eating some poisonous plants. Here is the scene from the film:

This is not the first time people have been confused by the photo of Spielberg. Last year the same photo went viral on Facebook after a prankster created a meme which said, “Disgraceful photo of recreational hunter happily posing next to a triceratops he just slaughtered. Please share so the world can name and shame this despicable man.” Some people who spread the meme were apparently in on the joke, but others missed it and assumed it was a real animal.

In any case, the fake controversy probably comes at a good time for Spielberg. The 4th film in the franchise, Jurassic World, will be released this coming weekend.