Manatee Roundup Nets 14 Healthy Animals
 hile red tide and speeding boats combined to make 2005 the second-worst year on record for manatee deaths in Florida, biologists participating in the annual ãmanatee roundupä at Apollo Beach set a more positive record, capturing 14 animals for checkups instead of the nine they had hoped for.
One female ö previously unidentified ö literally broke the scales at 1800 pounds and researchers estimated her weight at approximately 2000 pounds. ãSheâd been eating very well,ä quipped Jeremy Lake, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Nine animals were thoroughly tested and equipped with satellite tags to monitor their movement in an ongoing study that looks at how they use industrial warm-water sources like the TECO electrical plant at Big Bend.
While scientists are still collating data, Lake said that the effects of this summerâs red tide appeared to have worn off ö at least among the captured animals. ãThis group appears to be very healthy and itâs a pretty good cross-section, going all the way from our 2000-pound female down to a 400-pound calf.ä
Biologists and medical experts run a series of tests on manatees before releasing them with satellite tags so their movements can be tracked. |
Photos: Mary Kelley Hoppe |
Except for the large female, many of the animals were already listed in the FFWR database ö also called the scar catalog ö that identifies manatees based on their scars from boat impacts. Some even have names, like Bird Dropping, a male with a distinctive splatter-type scar on his back.
Shortly after the roundup, a scientific panel recommended that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission downgrade manatees from endangered to threatened species. However, officials say that downgrading the listing will not weaken protection because a management plan that ensures the manatee does not return to the endangered list would need to be developed as part of the change. Additionally, the manatee is listed as endangered by federal law that overrides state regulations.
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