Manatees Could Lose Endangered Status

CTV ^ | April 9, 2007 | Associated Press

[gov_bean_ counter]

Must have finally figured out you can’t make love to a Boston Whaler.

[M203M4]

Wonder what they taste like...

*sniff

[soycd]

good. block another liberal gain.

[Borges]

That sound you hear is dozens of Freepers scurrying to be the first to post that ‘Oh the Hugh Manatee’ pic.

[M203M4]

TOO LATE!!! MWAHAHA.

[elfman2]

“This year’s annual manatee census recorded 2,812 of the animals, also known as sea cows, in Florida water. Last year, scientists found 3,116.”

More disenfranchised Floridian minorities!

[ECM]

That’s an odd way to phrase the headline—you’d think it’d be more celebratory, no?

[Wiseghy]

Just got back from FL, where I discussed this issue with a state official who collects manatee and other environmental data. He attributed this to moves by developers and boat lobbyists to gain more flexibility around the state and especially Biscayne Bay.

I must say, having spent a lot of time on and under the water while there, I was inclined to agree with the more environmentalist viewpoint on this one. The damage to the area caused by fast, irresponsible boating was pretty easy to see.

However, holding development hostage to cute animals is a risky strategy for the environmental movement, as this shows. Better to work on common interest in overall preservation raising property values for everyone.

[stm]

Not the most attractive of animals but they are very gentle and very curious. Back before the tree huggers made it illegal to touch them, we used to hitch rides on their backs all the time down in Crystal River, FL. They actually seemed to enjoy it as well.

The only downside to it was the fact that it was often very difficult to judge how far they had actually swam because the visibility was not always the best. More than once I was faced with a 1/2 -3/4 mile swim back to the rest of the divers!

[SteveMcKing]

Environmentalists will now demand we kill manatees, in order to keep them endangered.

Don’t underestimate their madness - they could really do that.

[doodad]

Don’t know. Is tasty manatee still a member?

[Millee]

Ready to open "McManatees" as soon as they're off the list.

[Atlas Sneezed]

IAT”OTHM!”P

[gonzo]

"...Wonder what they taste like..."

Beef! They're what's fer dinner!

Actually, there's a reason they're called sea-cows, they're actually as stupid as cows (beeves).

It's surprising that they didn't go extinct over 100 years ago ................ FRegards

[rabidralph]

As Rush said a few weeks back, if you want to make sure there’s an abundant supply of endangered animals, take them off the endangered list and let people hunt them for food. Restaurants will subsidize farms full of the critters to make sure there’s an ample supply for their tables.

[Larry Lucido]

Oh, the tiny manatee!

[lesser_satan]

Where will the Family Guy writers go for their storylines?

[ken5050]

Related topic question: I was watching the “Our Planet” series last night...they showed a sea-cow herd of thousands off the coast of Western Australia..can’t remember what they’re called, but they sure looked like manatees. Anyone know..is it a subspecies?

[vetvetdoug]

A manatee even made it up to Memphis, Tennessee, last fall. Stayed too long, it succumbed to the cold and died.