Actually, this is sad
An unprecedented number of manatees have died in 2010 according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The Commission says cold weather is to blame for many of these deaths.
668 manatees have died this year to date and 244 of those deaths were attributed to cold stress. 65 manatees were killed by watercraft according to the same FWC statistics. These numbers account for all Florida counties.
Obviously, this was caused by people driving SUVs.
You can help save the manatees here.
Now, if the cold weather will just kill the Burmese Pythons which are now infesting Florida an huge numbers, thanks to sick freaks who had them as pets (shudder) and let them go free.
Same freaks who whine about protection of endangered species
Oh Teach, you are only telling half the story.
Environmentalists and AGW proponents here are saying that the evil power companies are the cause of the deaths of the sea cows. If only we have more “renewable energy sources!”
The theory is that the discharge pipes from cooling towers artificially heat the water in the rivers, lakes and lagoons, so the manatees go there. The migration of the manatees has therefore gone north more than nature intended and when the weather turns cold, the manatees are caught in the colder water and die.
There is no statistical backing for this claim whatsoever, but statistics were never the friend of AGW supporters.
It is just another example of them doing the ol’ “when the facts go against you, lie more” routine.
It is my understanding that manatees taste very similar to chicken.
Interestingly, one of those nature programs about the pythons said the cold is barely bothering them. It’s almost like they are….evolving.
Well, of course it’s caused by Man, GT. We can do anything! Of course, the alarmists miss that manatees tend to roam all over the coast of Florida, then head to hot springs in the winter.
You are so bad, Kevin. :)
Have you noticed, the animals that man has stewardship over – the ones that man manages – don’t have number issues? It is the ones that we seem to “PROTECT” that seem to be dying off.
What if we managed manatees like we do cattle? Or, in Kevin’s world, like a poultry farm?
Has anyone ever seen live manatees? They are the slowest moving, simplest of creatures I have ever witnessed. Adorable yes, smart, not so much. In their lovely huge lumbering way (and yes, for sea creatures, the only realistic term to use for them is lumbering) they can’t get themselves away from danger. Survival of the fittest? Let’s not jump to conclusions that climate has one iota to do with their demise!