NEW ORLEANS — The American Civil Liberties Union is backing a satirical Web site forced to take down a story about a fictional giraffe attack posted shortly after a killer whale dragged a trainer to her death.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in state district court in Tangipahoa Parish, the ACLU said the U.S. Supreme Court has said clearly that satire is protected speech.

The Global Wildlife Center near Folsom, La., got a temporary order forcing the Web site — Hammond Action News — to take down the Feb. 25 story, saying the park received calls asking whether it was true. The center claims the story, under Louisiana law, defamed its business reputation.

The nonprofit wildlife sanctuary conducts safari tours during which visitors can get close to exotic animals, including giraffes, and can pet and feed them. The satirical account reporting on the sudden end of fictional guide "Dizzy Dimarco" was posted a day after the fatal whale attack at SeaWorld theme park in Orlando, Fla.

Robert McComiskey, the wildlife park's attorney, said the suit was filed after Hammond Action News, operated by Southeastern Louisiana University student Nicholas Brilleaux, rejected three e-mailed requests to take the story down.

But the site's attorney, J. Parker Layrisson, said the story was clearly satire — and constitutionally protected.

In its brief, the ACLU points to a high-profile 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell in a suit filed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell against the magazine. Hustler had published a fictional, satirical interview in which Falwell purportedly described an incestuous encounter with his mother.

"There was no doubt in that case that the facts in the satirical interview were false and that the article's publication had caused harm to Rev. Falwell," the ACLU's brief said. "Despite this, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hustler magazine because Hustler had not published the satirical interview with 'actual malice.'"

Actual malice is a legal standard in libel cases that requires a public figure, such as Falwell, to prove that a statement is made with "knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard as to truth or falsity." In that case, the high court said it was providing "breathing space" to protect the First Amendment.

A hearing on whether to make the giraffe-satire takedown order permanent is scheduled for March 15 in Amite, La.

Hammond Action News pokes fun at events and public officials in the Hammond area northwest of New Orleans.