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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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To: dfwgator
(Snort, guffaw)😜

CC

61 posted on 05/15/2019 3:11:33 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (My cats are more amusing than 200 channels worth of TV)
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To: Celtic Conservative

Give it a new name!

There was a torrential Noahish deluge last Tuesday there...Chelsea Handler would have stood there with her mouth open...


62 posted on 05/15/2019 3:26:58 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

“Godzira! Godzira!”

“Nope, just Manatees making out.”


63 posted on 05/15/2019 3:29:28 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Gamecock

This is just another Saturday night in Baltimore.


64 posted on 05/15/2019 3:30:27 PM PDT by bort
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To: Gamecock
Which one, was Nadler!


65 posted on 05/15/2019 3:32:33 PM PDT by Grampa Dave ( You can't normalize the type of behavior the left is trying to normalize, when, it isn't normal!)
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To: blueunicorn6

Is that like Muskrat Love?


66 posted on 05/15/2019 3:33:38 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

I wondered why the reporter found mating animals to be “distasteful”?

While it’s not particularly entertaining to watch, it’s perfectly natural.


67 posted on 05/15/2019 3:34:44 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s........you weren't really there)
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To: dfwgator

There is nothing in this world as pure and beautiful as Muskrat Love.


68 posted on 05/15/2019 4:06:06 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Gamecock

And not a womanatee in sight.


69 posted on 05/15/2019 4:36:32 PM PDT by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: Gamecock

They mate every three to five years?

That’s more often than Bill and Hillary.


70 posted on 05/15/2019 5:54:57 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (President Trump is right! The media IS the enemy of the people!)
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To: Gamecock

They mate every three to five years?

That’s more often than Bill and Hillary.


71 posted on 05/15/2019 5:55:16 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (President Trump is right! The media IS the enemy of the people!)
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To: Gamecock; Lazmataz

But would Laz hit it?


72 posted on 05/15/2019 6:06:43 PM PDT by 6ppc (It's torch and pitchfork time)
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To: Gamecock

Look out!   Here comes Biden!


       

73 posted on 05/15/2019 6:08:23 PM PDT by Songcraft
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To: Dilbert San Diego; 2banana; frithguild; Velveeta; TheOldLady; Ken H; DoughtyOne; Alas Babylon!
This entire article is hetero normative and binary.

What about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered manatees? What about their rights, what about their rituals?

homosexual minority humpback whale ping!

74 posted on 05/16/2019 5:49:39 PM PDT by null and void (The press is always lying. When they aren't actively lying, they are actively concealing the truth.)
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