The Mighty Thor
Contributor
Great video. Thanks for sharing
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so did any law enforcement or other officials ever do anything about this?
As I have said in the past, what reason would a guide, who has touched a manatee many times, have for touching one now?
It seems there are two trains of thought on manatee interaction.
There is actually a third train of thought, currently in practice. That is to allow any contact that one can get away with, especially if there is money to be made. This is, and has been, in practice, the predominant interaction behavior in Crystal River (and Homosassa).
We all enjoy petting animals. It is pleasurable to us and usually for the animal too. However there is a great deal of difference between petting a pet and petting a wild animal. Petting wild animals turns them into pets (habituated, just like feeding and watering). This almost always ends badly for the animal. In the manatees case being habituated means they spend more time close to boats and humans that dislike them (there are plenty that wish them harm). It would be similar to offering your pet dog a treat for crossing a busy highway. He will enjoy every successful crossing, but youve done him no favors.
Guides should save any personal and legal contact with manatees for their own time. While guiding their attention should be on their clients. In reality, it is very much in their interest to train or manipulate the animals to come to swimmers and boats. Again, this is only in the interest of the business and is dangerous to the manatee. There are well-established guidelines for interacting with all wildlife. Contact is generally forbidden.
If you wish to help wild animals it is important to allow them to be wild.
Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.
(Edwin Way Teale)