Quote:
Originally Posted by Nebe
scott, you got to get off of the 'warming' thing.. . the climate is changing..
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I agree!
just ask a manatee....
Cold temps further endanger Florida's manatees
CNN
Workers at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo treat 3-year-old Baby Coral for cold stress.The unusually cold weather that struck Florida in January did more than damage crops and citrus trees.
It has also caused an unprecedented number of deaths among Florida's beloved residents, the endangered West Indies manatees.
Twisting and flopping in the shallow water, Baby Coral probably doesn't realize just how lucky she is. When this 3-year-old female manatee was brought into Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo last month, she was 300 pounds underweight, unable to eat.
Her skin was covered with small white, blister-like lesions known as "Florida frostbite," the result of exposure to cold temperatures.
Lowry Park Zoo is one of the three facilities in the state that provide medical treatment and a place for manatees to recover from cold stress, as well as other injuries.
"It's an exceptionally bad year for the manatee," said Dr. David Murphy, the zoo's veterinarian.
So far this year, a record 280 or more manatees have died from cold stress-related illnesses. That's estimated to be 5 percent of the total population in Florida. Add that to last year's record mortality rate of 429 deaths from boat strikes and other causes, and that number may be as high as 10 percent.
Marine biologist Andy Garrett says he's never seen anything like this before. The full impact of the cold weather on the manatee population is still unclear, according to Garrett, who works for Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
He says that when water temperatures dip below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, these subtropical animals simply can't cope with the cold. Last month, Florida's water temperatures dropped as low as the 40s. While manatees are round and plump like seals and other marine mammals, their fat is not designed to insulate them from the cold, Garrett said.