Is Max the Manatee already in the rescue truck!? Hasn’t anybody been monitoring and guarding him all this time!?

Well, if this Storm Brain NPO is so connected, who needs Mark to publicize Max the Manatee? With Mark’s puny social media following (just a few hundred more than mine, I think!), it’s a wonder how his name even wound up at the top of any Internet search (see Saturday’s strip for that reference, if you missed it).

As for “getting” the manatee rescue truck, I assume they mean “renting” the truck, since the actual cost has to be pretty high (>$100,000), owing to its special construction and gear. There really are manatee rescue/transport trucks, by the way.

One such truck was featured in news stories in Palm Beach, Florida in 2022. The one pictured in this photo was donated to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which counts rescuing and tracking manatees as part of its mandate.

It bears a striking resemblance to the one Rivera drew. And that is perfectly fine, of course. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to.

Art Dept:  For today, I’ll let you all handle that analysis.