Feds Seek Info on Manatee Crime

[blu3534]

Worse than scratching a word in algae on an animal is, imho, the severe exageration.

"Carving ... The perpetrators of this crime will be pursued by Federal Authorities and brought to Federal Court for this truly despicable act.
Yet another sad day in our nation."

The sad thing is how you choose to report this story and some of the replies. People numb themself and, in the end, wildlife protection will suffer. Acc. to wikipedia it's not the (somewhat dump) scratching which harms this rather ugly animal but:

"The main causes of death for manatees are human-related issues, such as habitat destruction and human objects. Their slow-moving, curious nature has led to violent collisions with propeller-driven boats and ships. Some manatees have been found with over 50 scars on them from propeller blades."

A.o. if you propeller-drive around in Florida, aren't you then a bigger danger to these seacows than what has been done here and you should direct your outrage toward yourself or your fellow boater?
Major Tom and his scarred magatee crew

[thannever]

This might actually lead to fewer future manatee collisions as those careless power boaters slow down in the hopes of spotting the famous name.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by bjp447

I agree, leave the animal kingdom out of it. Although I would suggest burning and looting should take a higher priority. Since the manatee was obviously not harmed, (algae scraped not carved)maybe they should spend more time on these idiots who think a manatee zone means keep it under 40 kph! But I suppose since they have no consideration for their fellow humans why be concerned about their fellow mammals.

But I think the manatee WAS harmed. They are very sensitive creatures, and mishandling one of them like that would be traumatic and harmful even if there is no direct physical injury.

[Mike OReilly]

Looks to me like an idiotic prank by an immature individual. According to the story it says:

A spokesperson for the US Fish and Wildlife Service told BuzzFeed News that the mammal did not appear to be "seriously injured," saying that the word was evidently etched into the algae on top of its skin.

Regardless, the perpetrators are guilty of a federal offense "punishable by up to one year in prison and a $50,000 fine." They should be caught and brought to justice.

[Woodland Hills]

An obvious antifa false flag operation....... just like last week. Everyone knows that Republicans are law abiding and would never break glass, trespass or assault the Blue Line, much less abuse a manatee.

I was surprised by how many antifa in the Capitol were older men with grey beards. They usually wear masks so you can’t tell. Scary!

[Jenta]

First and foremost - I agree the individual(s) should be fined/penalized if found and it is unacceptable behavior. But like others I can't stand the way things are reported so often with words that are chosen to reflect an edge to the story that may not actually be there.
I mean, is it possible that the Manatee actually liked his back being scratched and that is why they were able to do what they did? I don't know and am not saying that was the case at all. But to automatically go to the point that this Manatee is now traumatized and physically harmed also seems like a bit of a jump.

Nature is indeed fragile, but it is also very resilient.

What boggles my mind as much as anything else to this story is why would someone bother to do that? What possible motivation could there have been?
Did someone think it was a good advertisement for the candidate of their choice? Maybe someone sneaky thought it would get someone else in trouble like when my sister wrote my name in ink on my mom's sewing table. Or maybe someone just thinks Trump looks like a manatee and thought they were being funny. :/

Regardless - bad prank, disrespectful, and very juvenile. Definitely worthy of appropriate discipline.

[valhalla360]

It's wrong and idiotic. The guy should be charged if found.

But this is an excellent example of the media twisting the facts to meet an agenda. This was purposely written in an attempt to incite anger far beyond the actual idiotic act deserves.

If they had written a factual story that algae had been scrapped off to read trump, most non-partisans would have found it weird, a little disturbing but likely no extreme let's lock him up for 50yrs outrage. They purposely used the word "carved", to leave the image of Rambo pulling out his combat knife and digging it deeply into the poor animals back. The media is playing word games in an attempt to incite the public.

If your really worried about saving the manatees, chip in some money to fund outreach programs teaching boaters about how propellers injure and kill manatees. That will go much further in saving the manatee.

[keyway]

If you ever see a large herd of Matatees You might be shocked at the number of them chopped and maimed by boat propellers. Don’t know about scratching the back of a friendly manatee.

[Manateeman]

The most serious injury the manatee suffered was not to the skin.
It was the disruption of their method to prevent death from cold water.
Manatees have incredibly strong skin, so strong, Native American tribes used it as material for shields. Manatees were considered, like turtles and crocodiles, sacred foods to be eaten only in times of emergency as in after a hurricane.
Something like 90 % of all manatees have been hit by propellers. They survive deep cuts in an environment full of very nasty marine microbes. They survive because they have an incredible immune system. The vaccine for papilloma in humans began as a study of the almost perfect immunity manatees had to this virus. This crime was not and is not about scratching, cutting, tattooing carving ...what ever dang word you want or don’t want to use...I did not choose carve...it was the descriptive told to me by one of the first people on scene. Marine mammal scientists know how resistant manatees are to skin trauma.
The center point of this criminal action is the potential fatal result of disturbing manatees in winter as they try to survive the cold.
They don’t just lie there like logs because they are stupid or slow. They are not fat. They actually have very little body fat and can simply die from the cold.
They rest in groups. If you frighten one, they all react. They loose energy and that can be fatal. That’s the crime here. That will be the center of the charges.
Please stop all this nonsense about how it was reported, or what word ended up on this manatee. Please, just stop the silly comment.
The preservation of manatees and manatee habitat is in our best interest for our preservation. it’s just that simple. It’s not a crime against them, it was a crime against all of us.
Captain Mark

[endlesspursuit]

I wonder how many manatees Mark has hit with his 60 ft yacht? We see the big draft boats hit them in the shallow water. They can't dive deep enough. Boats need to almost stop when they are near.
The manatees are in the springs because the water is warm. 72 degrees year round. This was obviously a kids prank even though it should never have happened. This really shows how to over dramatize any news. Which seems to happen every day now. I'm really surprised that it stayed still long enough to write that on its back. The letters are near perfect. Maybe it was done by another manatee, you know a Trump supporting manatee.

[endlesspursuit]

He probably liked it. I was just sitting here thinking that I can't count the number of times I watched my boat moving around at the dock while a manatee rubbed its back up and down the hull.

[Dave22q]

I read that the "carving" of the manatee's skin was actually removal of alge similar to using a finger to write on a steamed up mirror. Challange: has anyone got a source that claimed actual damage to the manatee's skin? I stand ready to be corrected.

[Dave22q]

Having swum with manatees at Blue Springs I can personally attest to the fact that they are not disturbed by the presence of people nearby. It is obvious that any above average law school student could beat a prosecutor who is stupid enough to actually bring charges. I repeat, this is just more fake news.

[boatpoker]

While standing neck deep cleaning scum from my waterline I was nuzzled by a manatee a number of times as he followed me around the boat eating the scum that floated free. Am I guilty ?

[Manateeman]

The definition of an “ad hominem” fallacy in logic is when one attacks the man rather than from the position of facts or argument presented from evidence.
It is usually the result from frustration in formulating a succinct response during a debate.
Captain Mark and his educated manatee crew.