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...The man from Pittsburgh is accused of throwing gator nuggets into Rick's Reef Restaurant – and deputies found more of them in his pants pocket when he was arrested. According to the Rick's Reef Restaurant menu, "gator bites" are pieces of fresh, fried gator. When staff confronted Lessa, he "became belligerent" and "sexually molested" a manatee statue in the presence of staff and other patrons, the affidavit said.

A manatee died at a Florida aquarium in late April, and following a full pathology and necropsy report, there are new developments as to the possible cause of the mammal's sudden death. According to the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, the resident manatee, Hugh, died unexpectedly on April 29th after showing changes in his behavior until he suddenly became unresponsive in his habitat. According to a statement following his passing, the aquarium said the manatee and his brother Buffett, were the world's only manatees to participate in voluntary, detailed behavioral research designed to aid manatee conservation. But...

Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium announced that one of its beloved manatees, Hugh, died Saturday at age 38. [Snip] After showing a behavior change Saturday, animal care staff at Mote monitored him before he became unresponsive in his habitat late Saturday afternoon, Mote said in a Facebook post. [Snip] “Hugh’s indelible and lasting legacy will be one of an invaluable contribution to the scientific understanding of manatee behavior and contributions to the conservation of his species,” Mote Marine’s Facebook post read. “Our team is forever grateful for the time we had with Hugh and his contribution to manatee conservation,...

Voting rights groups, Democrats and supervisors of elections across the state are taking issue with a controversial bill that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Thursday morning. The law, which makes significant changes in how elections are run and how vote-by-mail ballots are submitted, has been characterized as “voter suppression” by critics. Republican lawmakers have championed the law, calling it a protective measure that keeps elections safe and secure. But Florida ran an election in 2020 that was praised for its quick results and smooth ballot-counting process. Manatee County saw record voter turnout in November, and Supervisor of Elections...

A manatee was found with the word “TRUMP” scrawled on its back in a Florida swimming hole, prompting an investigation from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, reports said Monday. The defenseless animal was spotted with the political inscription over the weekend in the Blue Hole headwaters of the Homosassa River in Citrus County — about 80 miles northwest of Orlando, the Citrus County Chronicle reported. SNIP “It’s been my experience that this is very out of character for this community,” Craig Cavanna, a senior federal wildlife officer in charge of the investigation, told the outlet.

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — There is a federal investigation into the reported harassment of a manatee, found with the word "Trump" written on its back, in a story first reported by the Citrus County Chronicle. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed an investigation is underway after the agency received a report about the manatee. The Chronicle reported the manatee was found over the weekend in the Blue Hole on the Homosassa River.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating. David Beede of Shallow Point Fishing Charters is getting death threats.The internet was aflame this week with comments criticizing a Tampa charter boat captain after drone video surfaced showing him scrape a manatee’s back with a fishing pole while taking clients to fish near Weedon Island. The internet onslaught has been so bad, David Beede said, he’s now getting death threats. Beede told the Tampa Bay Times he thought he was helping the manatee. The video, he said, doesn’t show the whole story. “I thought I was helping,” Beede told the...

Elephants understand humans in a way most other animals don’t, according to the latest research from the University of St Andrews. The new study, published October 10, 2013 by Current Biology, found that elephants are the only wild animals to understand human pointing without any training to do so. The researchers, Anna Smet and Professor Richard Byrne from the University’s School of Psychology and Neuroscience, set out to test whether African elephants could learn to follow pointing — and were surprised to find them responding successfully from the first trial. They said, “In our study we found that African elephants spontaneously...

Videos posted by attendees at the U.S. Open show a blimp crashing to the ground after apparently catching fire. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is responding to the crash, CBS affiliate WDJT-TV reports. At least one person is injured, officials said. Jeff Alstadter, a spokesman for the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) tells CBS News officials were still gathering information about the crash. Twitter users posted clips showing the blimp falling from the sky near the golf tournament, which is being held at Erin Hills Golf Course in Hartford, Wisconsin

Lena Dunham stripped down and donned a tailfin to wish her social media followers a very “mermaid Christmas” on Saturday. The 30-year-old Girls actress-writer posted a photograph of her dressed up as a mermaid to her nearly three million Instagram followers on Christmas Eve. “And then she got her holiday wish aka her lifelong wish… we wish you a mermaid Christmas,” Dunham captioned the snap.

Beginner's Luck. It was my first time using my GoPro+ LCD camera with the head band. I was in a salt water creek at Mile Marker 81.8 in the Florida Keys at Islamorada. Shortly after entering the water this big manatee came shooting past me like a torpedo. Normally manatees swim 3 to 5 mph but this manatee was travelling at least 20 mph, perhaps because he was taking advantage of a very strong current. After the first view at normal speed, you will see the manatee slowed down to 15% speed, and finally you will see the scene again...

The number of manatees in the waters around Florida have reached a new peak of at least 6,250, conservationists said Thursday, a record reflecting years of efforts to protect the marine mammals. The count is up slightly from the 6,063 spotted last year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement, citing results from surveys conducted by 11 organizations. Last month, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed downgrading the manatee's status from endangered, a designation given to species on the brink of extinction, to threatened. ...

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Manatees have been spotted in Lake County. The story made headlines this week here in central Florida and all over the world.

As they do whenever they visit Florida, Greg Groff and his young daughter stopped by the manatee pool at Miami Seaquarium, where the speed bump-shaped marine mammals placidly swim in circles. They noted the pink scars and disfigured tail on one manatee, damage from a boat propeller that left it unable to survive in the wild. Florida’s manatees need even more stringent protections than their listing on the federal endangered species list, Groff said, adding that boaters should go elsewhere if they don't like speed limits in waters where manatees swim. […] The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing...

APOLLO BEACH (FOX 13) - With temperatures dropping in both the air and the water, dozens of manatees have returned to one of their favorite spots for the winter: The warm waters of the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach. At least 100 manatees were visible Saturday in the canal alongside the Big Bend facility, where discharge saltwater from the power plant warms the water to summer-like temperatures. According to TECO, the manatees begin to arrive when water temperatures in the bay drop below 68 degrees. Thermometers on the site indicated the bay was at about 65 degrees this weekend,...

Target has apologized for referring to its "plus-size kimono maxi dress" as manatee gray. This is a mammal, after all, that is sometimes referred to as a sea cow. An irritated shopper tweeted what many saw as an insult. Regular sizes were "dark heather gray," but the plus size got the "manatee" label. It didn't take long for Target to zap the plus-size gaffe from its website and issue an apology. A spokeswoman told Today.com on Thursday the retailer was sorry for "any discomfort" and never intended to offend. Spokeswoman Jessica Deede noted that this color was "seasonal" at Target,...

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A deadly algae bloom that killed a record number of manatees has dissipated, though the death toll for the endangered sea mammals continues to rise, Florida wildlife officials said on Thursday. Red Tide has killed 241 manatees this year as of Wednesday, said Kevin Baxter, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. The figure already surpasses the highest number of Red Tide manatee deaths on record in Florida - 151 in 1996. This year's fatalities from Red Tide will likely continue into the spring because the algae bloom's deadly toxins...

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office joined the ranks of other law enforcement agencies across the Bay area and hosted their first gun buyback since 2009. The sheriff’s office’s goal is to keep unwanted guns off the streets and from being used in a crime. “The last time we did this, back in ’09, we actually got 400 guns,” said Manatee County PIO Dave Bristow. “We hope to get that around that same figure today. They actually got more than that. The Sheriff’s Office paid out approximately $37,950 for a total of 459 firearms, including five assault type weapons.

A watery-looking nebula in deep space is being renamed after the sea creature it strongly resembles: a manatee. The nebula is the leftovers from a star that died in a supernova explosion about 20,000 years ago. Before it died, the giant star puffed out its outer gaseous layers, which now swirl in green-and-blue clouds around the dead hulk of the star, which has collapsed into a black hole. Known officially as W50, the celestial object is being dubbed the Manatee Nebula by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), during a ceremony today (Jan. 19) at the Florida Manatee Festival in...

Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 53, was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant Saturday on the charge of violating Florida’s Manatee Sanctuary ActA St. Petersburg woman has been charged with violating Florida law by riding a manatee, authorities said. Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 53, was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant Saturday on the charge of violating Florida’s Manatee Sanctuary Act. Pinellas County sheriff's deputies say she was photographed riding the manatee at Fort De Soto Park in September. On Oct. 2, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a press conference asking for the public's help in identifying the woman. Gutierrez called deputies and allegedly...