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Florida Manatee Orgy Near Tampa Bay Highway Causes World's Most Awkward Traffic Jam
The Drive ^ | 5/13/2019 | JAMES GILBOY

Posted on 05/15/2019 1:22:12 PM PDT by Gamecock

An unusual congregation of mating manatees reportedly caused a traffic jam in Tampa Bay, Florida last Friday.

Approximately a dozen of the creatures were spotted by commuters offshore of Courtney Campbell Causeway, reports Fox 13. The news channel says it received several calls from drivers commuting via the road—many of whom pulled over to watch the spectacle—reporting a possible whale in distress. On arrival, a news helicopter discovered the herd of manatees engaging in a rarely seen reproduction practice known as a "mating ball."

This event, which ABC Action News reports is sighted an average of once every three to five years, is a result of a highly competitive manatee mating ritual, wherein an average of seven males reportedly compete for the attention of a single female. This sometimes results in a group of aggressive males corralling a small number of females into shallow waters, before attempting to mate with them.

Though distasteful, this practice may prevent manatees from slipping back toward extinction, as the size of their wild population is limited. Manatees were classified as endangered for more than 40 years, until their reclassification in 2016 to the less-severe status of "threatened," implying population numbers greater than those of endangered species.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that manatee mating season runs from March through November, meaning more traffic slowdowns could occur in the rare event that another manatee mating ball appears off the coast of Tampa Bay.


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: commentbait; floridaman; floridamanatee
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1 posted on 05/15/2019 1:22:12 PM PDT by Gamecock
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Florida Man approves.


2 posted on 05/15/2019 1:22:29 PM PDT by Gamecock (In church today, we so often find we meet only the same old world, not Christ and His Kingdom. AS)
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To: Gamecock

Barbara Manateeeeeeeeee, you are the one for meeeeeeeeee..........


3 posted on 05/15/2019 1:23:08 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Gamecock

4 posted on 05/15/2019 1:25:40 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: Gamecock

“Though distasteful, “

The SJWs just can’t get through to them. Oh the huge manatee.


5 posted on 05/15/2019 1:27:21 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (If you want a definition of "bullying" just watch the Democrats in the Senate)
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To: Gamecock

6 posted on 05/15/2019 1:28:33 PM PDT by mbarker12474
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To: Gamecock
Well, am I the first here for this?


7 posted on 05/15/2019 1:29:06 PM PDT by SES1066 (Happiness is a depressed Washington, DC housing market!)
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To: Gamecock

Sounds like there is an Alpha Mantee in the House !


8 posted on 05/15/2019 1:29:49 PM PDT by WashingtonFire (We stand for God, For Country and for Trump)
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To: Gamecock

They were in the water. People driving on the road should keep their eyes on the road.


9 posted on 05/15/2019 1:30:15 PM PDT by Innovative
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To: EEGator

Florida …America’s Wang


10 posted on 05/15/2019 1:30:24 PM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: SES1066

Uhhhhhh...


11 posted on 05/15/2019 1:30:37 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Vaquero
Florida …America’s Wang

And it's whizzing on Cuba.

12 posted on 05/15/2019 1:31:01 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin
Though distasteful, this practice may prevent manatees from slipping back toward extinction

What's "distasteful" about it? These people are such Victorians.

13 posted on 05/15/2019 1:31:30 PM PDT by M. Thatcher
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To: SES1066; mbarker12474

Stonkered by 33 seconds. Shouldn’t have taken the time for the the comment!


14 posted on 05/15/2019 1:31:42 PM PDT by SES1066 (Happiness is a depressed Washington, DC housing market!)
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To: dfwgator

Well there’s that, too.


15 posted on 05/15/2019 1:32:15 PM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: WashingtonFire
Gone but not forgotten.


16 posted on 05/15/2019 1:32:35 PM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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Did somebody say something about Oprah, Orgy, and Jam?


17 posted on 05/15/2019 1:32:55 PM PDT by dsrtsage (For Leftists, World History starts every day at breakfast)
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To: central_va

Doesn’t Rosie O’Donnell live in Florida?


18 posted on 05/15/2019 1:33:30 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

Hmm, I was on that last droplet of whizz last week


19 posted on 05/15/2019 1:34:14 PM PDT by Scott from the Left Coast (You may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you...)
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To: Gamecock
Larry the Cucumber was unavailable for comment.
20 posted on 05/15/2019 1:35:33 PM PDT by Disambiguator (Keepin' it analog.)
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