cold in florida killing the manatee

[Zoodiver]

It's just a natural swing that happens. Each year it gets cold here for a bit. For some reason, the past couple of years it's gotten colder and for a longer period. It's just them dealing with it that is hard. Last year we lost a bit of everything: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles.....

So far this year we haven't brought in any cold stress manatees. I know a few went in up North. We only have taken a couple of boat strikes.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

Serious question, does this tie into global warming? Or not so much? Our polar bears are too warm, our manatees are too cold, I don't understand.

This is the earths natural cycle, not man made global warming. Esp since such a thing doesnt exist.

 

[Red Devil]

there were more pics.but i did not want to put them up.. this one is bad enough.. cop came and dragged the poor thing out of the water.. i feel bad for all the suffering wild life has to endure.. forest fires, quakes and floods and cold and hot and hurricanes.. seeing a manatee really is sad.. they are just so sweet..

 

[JD7.62]

As a fisherman and boater in FL I HATE manatees! Im tired of going idle speed for long stretches to avoid hitting them.

Ok, Im not that much against them, but I dont feel sad for them. Nature is killing them and that is what nature does. They are pretty cool to see but really are dumb as a box of rocks. A few weeks ago I was fishing Crystal River during that first real bad cold snap and they stacked up in the Nuclear plant's warm water discharge as well as the spring fed Crystal River and they would just swim up to and bump into the boat as if they didnt see it.

Here is a pic from that trip...

Zoodiver, I thought you lived in the midwest somewhere? My buddy is a FWC fisheries biologist out of Eustis and last year during the cold snap they had to gather up dozens of cold shocked sea turtles and he had to truck them down to Palm Beach to release himself! I envy his job, but I hear you on the pay. My man has his masters degree and makes around $10/hr with NO benefits!

 

[Illbuyourcatfish]

This is the earths natural cycle, not man made global warming. Esp since such a thing doesnt exist.

Haha I was slyly trying to get that across .

 

[NCStateFisher]

i'd feel bad, but then again they're too stupid to swim south.. so i can only have so much sympathy for them... still sad but hey, many more intelligent animals have figured it out, why can't these blobs?

 

[Red Devil]

i'd feel bad, but then again they're too stupid to swim south.. so i can only have so much sympathy for them... still sad but hey, many more intelligent animals have figured it out, why can't these blobs?

i do not think it is stupidity... i think it is just lack of instinct... maybe things were different way back.. maybe they were only located in the most southern areas of florida.. population and building has turned alot the wildlife world upside down.

 

[kdrun76]

^ dude, how the hell can I get your job?.......

Most of my staff pull in a whopping $9-$10 hr. with a couple years under their belt on top of a degree.

It is because of this attitude that people that work in this field get paid so little. Look at any employee at a zoo or aquarium, with a masters degree and 8-10 years experience they make about $25K a year. But the split second they quit, 185 people will apply for their job. There is never a lack of applicants for the jobs. If no one wanted to do the job, they would have to pay more to reduce turn-over.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

i'd feel bad, but then again they're too stupid to swim south.. so i can only have so much sympathy for them... still sad but hey, many more intelligent animals have figured it out, why can't these blobs?

It's not stupidity. Like Liz said, it's an absence of instinct. If you're talking about a bird or a Tuna, they think cold = go south. Manatees are non-migratory animals, so they don't make that connection. They're not suicidal animals.

 

[Zoodiver]

Zoodiver, I thought you lived in the midwest somewhere? My buddy is a FWC fisheries biologist out of Eustis and last year during the cold snap they had to gather up dozens of cold shocked sea turtles and he had to truck them down to Palm Beach to release himself! I envy his job, but I hear you on the pay. My man has his masters degree and makes around $10/hr with NO benefits!

I lived in Minnesota for a long time, but have been in Miami a couple of years now.

I shot myself in the foot posting here. We had two come in last night. One boat strike and one cold stress calf. Didn't get home until close to midnight.


They aren't really dumb. Manatees are actually very smart. I've done operant conditioning (training) with a couple for husbandry reasons. They catch on quickly. What is happening is they are being displaced by humans and lack of food. They follow the warm current (which is getting further up the coast) looking for food.

Last year we had to snag one in Jersey and to bring back down here. Ilya made national news. We used a Coast Guard C130 for the transport.

Here's a video clip. 19 seconds into it, I'm the guy on the left corner of the stretcher by his head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XES1ARhcRio