Manatee eating — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: somdul
A Florida’s sheriff office has a special manatee-related message for concerned county residents:
“If you see [manatees], no you didn’t,” the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Largo, Florida, about 20 miles from Tampa, wrote in a Facebook post accompanied by Marvin Gaye singing Let’s Get It On. “We get calls all the time from citizens when they see this, believing the manatees are in distress. We can assure you they are more than fine.”
The manatees have gathered into a breeding herd that consists of one cow and numerous bulls. They flounder and splash a lot while having group mating rituals in the shallows.
“When people see it, it is in shallow waters with a lot of commotion, so it can look like manatees are getting injured to onlookers who are definitely fearful and want to make sure manatees are doing ok,” said Jaime Vaccaro, assistant curator of Florida/manatees with Zoo Tampa, according to WFLA NBC8. “There’s usually one female and multiple males. You could see anywhere from five or more manatees together at one time.”
Despite the fact that manatees breed all year long, the activity of the mating herd is typically observed in the summer, which is why concerned individuals have been calling the sheriff’s office.
“If you see this, there’s no need to call,” the sheriff’s office continued. “They are a-okay!”
Manatees in Florida
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida manatees, the official marine mammal of Florida, are endemic to the state and have existed there for millions of years.
The average adult manatee is around 10 feet long and weighs about 1,000 pounds. At birth, a manatee calf normally weighs 60 to 70 pounds.
The “sea cows,” as the marine creatures are commonly known, love tranquil rivers, estuaries, bays, and canals near Florida’s coast. The manatees then move to warmer waters near power plant discharge regions or natural warm-water springs throughout the winter.
They are herbivores, and they often graze on seagrasses and other types of marine or freshwater vegetation for up to eight hours each day, earning them the moniker “sea cows.”
Things To Know
Importantly, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission explains that because manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, it is unlawful to feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy, or molest the manatees.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, this makes approaching or disturbing the manatees, as well as upsetting the mating process, illegal.
The maximum penalties for breaking Florida state law are $500 in fines and/or up to 60 days in jail. On the other hand, conviction for breaking federal protection laws carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a fine of $100,000.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
