The first full week of November is apparently Gar Week, and it is way more fun than Shark Week.
I don’t know if Gar Week is a real thing, or if the folks who run Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) Twitter account just made it up because it’s a fun thing to do. Either way, I’m here for it, and you should be too … because it turns out there’s a lot of fun to be had with gars.
A gar is a fugly type of fish with a heart of gold. And Americans are clearly huge fans of these snake-like sea serpenty fishy things. These strange monsters can live for up to 100 years, and are considered the ODWC’s favorite demographic of Oklahoma citizens. But no matter what you do, please do not eat gar eggs.
PLEASE👏DO👏NOT👏EAT👏GAR👏EGGS👏
THEY👏WILL👏ABSOLUTELY👏DEVASTATE👏YOUR👏TUMMY👏
— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) November 6, 2023
ODWC shared seemingly countless photographs, cartoons, and memes about them, so here are some of my favorites. Here’s one artificial-intelligence created gar leaping from the Red River to destroy Durant in 2045, whatever that means.
It’s #GarWeek 2045 and Gardzilla has risen from the Red River to celebrate by destroying Durant. pic.twitter.com/LXIXXjIPzz
— Mark (@markaduck) November 9, 2023
And here’s a photoshopped image of Patrick Swayze lifting up a gar like they’re in a film or something. (RELATED: As Hurricane Flooding Recedes, Dinosaur-Like Fish Appears)
Nobody puts gar in the corner pic.twitter.com/FgnRSL5CCs
— Mr. Manager (@Rebel_in_Blue) November 9, 2023
It turns out gars have been a big deal thing for years. Here’s a historical photograph of a guy standing next to a really big one (or he’s just a very little man).
#GarWeek c. 1905 pic.twitter.com/yG4QIg5jkv
— Field Museum (@FieldMuseum) November 9, 2023
But I feel like this one summed up ODWC’s entire vibe on gars. Sometimes all you need to do to release some stress and find your happiness in an ever-chaotic world … is to yell about gars for an entire week. (RELATED: Scientists Unearth Giant Fish That Likely Ate Our Human Ancestors)
— Matt Lawhead 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇩🇪 (@decrappy1) November 9, 2023
So there you have it, folks. Happy Gar Week! See you next year for some more bizarre, unhinged fishy fun.