Florida's Manatees Loved To Death In This Timelapse Video

... and not in a good way.


Well this is slightly alarming to me. Seemingly the manatees who come for refuge in the Crystal Springs River during the winter, where they can rest and keep stable energy levels in the warmer waters are not enjoying all the love that is bestowed upon them.... They even get cut by passing propellers and in the video you can see that happening very easily. It is a shame they are not left alone to enjoy their winter rest...

Manatees are such beautiful creatures of the deep blue..

Manatee are those teddy bears of the sea. Rotund, gentle sea-cows that everyone loves to be around -- an unfortunate thing, for the manatees. We've written about the plight of Florida's manatees in the past -- images from photographer Rebecca Jackrel show the beauty of the creatures as well as the dangers they face in trying to rest in a river visited by so many people, including people who are there specifically to see the manatees.

The animals come to Crystal River Springs as a refuge during the winter. It is a place for them to rest and conserve energy in warm waters. But with so little protection from the many people pressing in on them -- including touching, riding, and otherwise harassing them, not to mention the injuries they sustain from boat propellers slicing into them as they sit just below the water's surface -- our desire to be near them is preventing them from getting that much needed rest.

Here, in a timelapse video made by Mittermeier and fellow photographer Neil Ever Osborne, you can see just how much interaction the manatees are forced to deal with all day, every day.

Manatee Timelapse Video
(not sure how to embed vimeo vids and there was not a copy on youtube)

www.treehugger.com...

Dang, give the creatures some room peeps! Seems like they could have set those ropes a bit further out, temporarily. I understand the attraction, such unique and docile beauties, but for the love of propagation, give em' some space yo! I bet this is a result of continued habitat destruction for commercial development.

The video reveals just how little space manatees get for themselves, and how much more protection we need to be offering these animals who are, we cannot forget, members of an endangered species.

Balance...

ETA:

Manatees can live up to 60 years.
Manatee pregnancies last for 11 to 13 months. Newborns weigh about 60 pounds (27 kg). Mothers must take their newborns to the water's surface for their first breath, but calves can swim on their own after an hour or so.
Calves are dependent on their mothers for two years.www.livescience.com...

I did not know, quite the bond it seems.
More reasons to give them some space.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Couldn't have said it better myself..! I wonder do these people even have any common sense..? They need a bit more room and a bit more peace and quiet.. But they probably don't have anywhere better to go..

reply to post by fluff007


Sitting way up north as I am, I wondered about this gracious creature and whether it would die off after the oil spill and co-rexit disaster. I'm therefore happy to see them still around and that people are raising concerns that affect their well-being. Thanks for the post, OP.

Such human interaction is always detrimental to wildlife sadly even if there are no direct effects noticed subtle changes in their environment and behavior will develop over time that are not natural. The rate of change is often accelerated by the presence of man as well. Admire from a safe distance and get your close ups from National Geo or the zoo. Just like feeding the bears you're hurting the very animals you say you love so much.

reply to post by aboutface


Yep peeps are still raising awareness for the sea cows..! It is worrying though all four species of the Sirenia order are classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. The four sea cow species are the African manatee, West Indian manatee and the Amazonian manatee. The fourth being the dugong.

A Vulnerable species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as likely to become Endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. There are currently 4728 animals and 4914 plants classified as Vulnerable, compared with 1998 levels of 2815 and 3222, respectively.

en.wikipedia.org...

And with their reproduction rates being fairly slow the more that are killed or have nowhere to breed or rest and die the harder it will be for their population to rise again. Manatee gestation periods last between 12 - 14 months with the Dugong having a gestation period of 13 - 15 months. And seemingly Dugongs do not breed seasonally. Usually they will only give birth a few times in their life even though they can live for 50+ years. But they do put in a considerable amount of care with each offspring.

African Manatee

West Indian Manatee

Amazonian Manatee

Dugong

They are also more intelligent than most people think too...

Manatees are capable of understanding discrimination tasks, and show signs of complex associated learning and advanced long term memory.[15] They demonstrate complex discrimination and task-learning similar to dolphins and pinnipeds in acoustic and visual studies.

en.wikipedia.org...

I would love to see one up close one day. Though I would keep my distance and if they decide to come and say hello that would make me very happy..!

reply to post by Asktheanimals


I just find it perplexing. It seems obvious to me that they wanted to be left alone. To rest and graze. Surely the people there must have noticed they were not happy...!