Olympic Wake Zone – The West Indian Manatee

Originally published on Audubon Guides on August 6th, 2012

Who wouldn't tune in to watch a showdown between the “slow moving”, baked potato-shaped  West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)  and an Olympic gold medalist swimmer? Few people would put money on the bulbous beast to win a race against any human let alone an Olympian, the fastest of which can swim nearly 4 ½ mph. Surprisingly, the aquatic plant-munching manatee lazily drifts along at 3-5 mph and when pressed can zip along at 15 mph—three times faster than an Olympian.

West Indian Manatee and calf © Jungle Pete

As of the start of the 2012 London Games, swimmer Michael Phelps had won 16 medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. He stands a sleek six feet four inches and weighs around 185 pounds. Compare that to the barrel-shaped manatee that can weigh over 1200 pounds and reach lengths of thirteen feet long it’s hard to believe this would even be a contest but it is – in the manateesfavor.

Despite their ability to swim rapidly in short bursts of speed, manatees are often victims of collisions with watercraft that can seriously injury or kill them. It has been disproven thatmanatees cannot hear approaching boats. The question remains – why don’t they escape? Is their reaction time too slow? Is there too much auditory stimulus to sort out?

In 2011, Florida Fish and Wildlife conducted their annual manatee survey and counted 4834 – the second highest number since surveys began in 1991. That same year, 453 confirmed manatee deaths were recorded in Florida’s waters. Eighty-eight deaths were attributed to watercraft collisions including impacts and propeller wounds. One hundred and twenty deaths were undetermined and in the wake of an extended cold spell, 112 died from cold stress.

While wake zones have been established in high traffic manatee areas, boater complacency and accidental collisions still occur. Every year we continue to lose roughly ten percent of themanatee population, but many of those losses can be prevented through respect of their habitat by boaters and access to natural springs and warm water discharge from power plants.

Many tune in to watch the grace and athleticism of the Olympians competing in London. Consider There’s a show going on under the sea too, if only more of us would slow down and enjoy it.

Stop It - The Burmese Python - Part II

In 2008 the USGS released a potential range map for Burmese Pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) in the United States. The startling suggestion was that the lower third of the continental US could be prime habitat. What it neglected to point out was that this tropical weather-loving snake can’t take the cold.

As evidence, in 2000 the Everglades National Park removed two Burmese Pythons. In 2005 they removed 94 more. In 2009 they removed the highest number ever at 367 followed by a decline in 2010 to 322 and in 2011 only 169 were found. (Click for ENP Removal Data) In 2010 Florida suffered a sustained period of cold weather. For ten days, the temperature remained un-Florida like and the consequence was the death of many of the invasive species (as well as many of our native one like the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) and American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus).

The snakes are a huge problem. Necropsies have found the endangered Florida Woodrat (Neotoma floridana), Big Cypress Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger avicinnia), Wood Storks (Mycteria americana), Everglades Mink (Mustela vison evergladensis) and recently a 76 pound deer in the belly of the snakes. 

Compounding the problem is the protective nature and prodigious offspring output of a female Python. One female can lay up to ninety eggs. Cold will keep them from spreading north. Strict laws are being put in place to ban the importation of the largest and most dangerous of the invaders and most of the locals are intent on dispatching them.

If only I could enlighten the media a little.

1)      Alligators rule the Everglades

2)      A handful of pet Anacondas have been found and they are not known to be breeding in the Everglades.

3)      The Everglades is over four million acres. The study of mammal population declines occurred in the Everglades National Park. The pythons do not have “voracious appetites”, nor are they “picking the Everglades clean”.

4)      The media has a stranglehold on their readers. We have a right to well researched, well written information. Not sensationalism.

To those that would release invasive snakes into the Everglades and to those in the media who perpetuate the python myths – Stop it. 

2010 - The Year in Scat

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

The same can be said for poop in a sense. Call it scat, droppings, excrement, dung, feces, manure, guano. It’s still poop. Calling it sweet might be a stretch.

I’m fascinated by animal scat. Absent of the animal, it tells us who passed by, when they passed by and what they ate. It comes in many telling shapes and sizes and sometimes it’s downright artistic. Here are my favorites in descending order.

10) The armadillo is my holy grail of scat – I know they poop. I’ve just never found any.

9) Most of the time I can make an educated guess. Sometimes it remains a mystery. This large pile was found just north of the Everglades. Coarse black hairs suggest a feral pig was eaten. I’m thinking Florida Panther.

8) Scat names can be species specific. If it came from a bat it’s called guano. In most parts of North America it’s easy to differentiate from rodent droppings of the same size. Bats eat insects with chitinous exoskeletons which do not get completely digested when passed in droppings. Under a bright flashlight the insect pieces sparkle.

7) American Black Bears range all throughout North America and as omnivores, have the luxury of feasting on whatever is on the outdoor buffet. A fresh crop of acorns from the Florida oaks have helped fatten up the bears for winter. A large pile of poop adorned with bits of acorn is the tell tail sign.

6) Turkeys enjoy a wide range of foods as well, including acorns and insects. This lovely arrangement of comma shaped droppings has evidence of an abundance of plant matter.

5) Domestic and wild cats have the good grace to cover up their scats with varying results. This bobcat scrapped some grass together to cover a bone and fur amalgam of poop.

4) Manatees are herbivores that feed on up to 100 lbs of vegetation a day. They’re gassy and they poop a lot. Manatees are rare and endangered and the sea is their toilet bowl. Finding a Manatee scat is a treasure.

3) Insects poop too as evidenced by the droppings from this juvenile Eastern Lubber grasshopper.

2) I believe Shakespeare was referring to otter poop when he noted “all that glitters is not gold”. Otters are from the mustelid family and have droppings that range from sweet smelling to rotten fish. They feast primarily on fish and their scat is uniquely filled with sparkling, undigested fish scales.

1) What do you get when you mix American Beauty Berry with a Raccoon? Art. You’re welcome. Happy New Year. 

Rules of Engagement

There are several rules and guidelines that one must abide by.

1) Scratching under the chin is acceptable
2) Rubbing the belly is fine
3) Let them approach you, but don't be aggressive and chase after them
4) Never try to ride them
5) If they are feeding - never disturb them
6) Do not poke them
7) And if they seem to want their space - let them have it. You don't want to anger a manatee

I took Ma-Le to "Swim with the Manatees" for her birthday a few days ago. Crystal River - about an hour north of Tampa and 3 1/2 hours north of Fort Myers is the only place you are permitted to enter the water and swim among the nearly "400 manatees" that inhabit this river. There are over 2500 West Indian Manatee around the coastal waterways of Florida, but this is by far the largest concentration of the rotund mammals around.

We woke up before the crack of dawn and headed to the marina on the Crystal River - The air temp was nearing 60 degrees and although it would rise to 72 by sun up, the water was still cool enough to require wetsuits. Fancy! If there's one thing I despise more than swimming it would be wearing skin tight clothing. I won't post my wetsuit picture - but for your amusement and so my friends the Rosas can't blackmail me - here's a picture they took of me as Woodsy Owl wearing skin tight yellow leotards. At least I think that's what they call them. How the hell would I know. (More on Woodsy in a future post)After a 15 minute debriefing on the "Rules of Engagement" with Manatees and the rundown on the "stupid" rules the government is trying to establish to prevent the public from swimming with Manatees - the captain shoved off and began heading up river to the sanctuary. I say "stupid" - and I took the time to stop typing this an actually do the air quotes - because the captain feels protecting the manatees is "stupid" and that the laws "and stuff" that they are trying to pass are "stupid". I will from this point forward refer to our skipper as "Captain Stupid". Feel free to do the air quotes as you read this.

It was a chilly but beautiful morning. I shivered the whole way in my wetsuit. Aptly named because it was still wet from the day before when someone else's skin was squeezed into the same suit. Ma-Le snapped this lovely photo at dawn (6:30 am)

The Banana Island sanctuary is centered around one of many springs that gurgles water up from the aquifer. The manatees and other river inhabitants enjoy the spring and congregate here, protected from annoying humans by buoys and ropes. If they venture outside this protected area - prepare for chin scratchings and belly rubs! Oh how exciting this is going to be! In all seriousness - I was extremely excited - despite the wetsuit.

When we anchored - Captain Stupid expertly pointed out our first potential manatee and suggested it might be nearby based on the ring of 25 snorkelers peering into the murky depths. It wasn't so much of a ring as it was a huddle, like in football when the QB is giving the play. I figured I'd leave this one poor manatee to the masses and find my own. There were 400 of them right?

Our group of 35 disembarked into the cold water and doggy paddled their way to the ring of snorkelers. I waited and when someone shouted "it's coming your way". I sank into the water, tested my snorkel breathing and began my search. Nothing. I can hardly see my hands. Who named this Crystal River and why? The 12 foot, 1500 lb Manatee had eluded me. We spent the next 70 minutes paddling about, masks down searching for at least one of the "400 manatees" that congregate here. From the photo above you can see why they might not want to hang out here. In the 90 minutes we were anchored here, at least 5 other snorkel boats came along and at one point there were at least 150 people in the water.

I nervously looked up every few minutes to make sure my boat wouldn't leave me and my birthday girl and when the majority of our crew climbed back on board, I followed. A woman complained she hadn't seen a Manatee and Captain Stupid responded "Oh that's too bad, you're the only one". To which I and several others dejectedly said we hadn't either. Captain Stupid than angrily said "then why are you back on the boat!"

I never did see a Manatee in the water, much less swim with it. I was annoyed enough to consider poking one if I did. But it wasn't the Manatee's fault. The silly thing is I see them nearly every time I am out on tour. I thought it might be fun to see them from a different perspective.

As we chugged back to the marina, we passed a sailboat graveyard, littered with a dozen or so abandoned vessels. On the western horizon two cooling stacks appeared from the nuclear power plant. Apparently they are building another nearby.

I include no Manatee photos here - nor much in the way of natural history facts about them. I find that appropriate considering we saw none and in the end - Captain Stupid never told us anything about the Manatees other than what you can and can not do when you swim with them. Disappointing to say the least. Maybe this is spiteful - but I hope they pass that "stupid" law to keep people away from Manatees. Save the Manatees - Swim with an Alligator.

Back Up Until it Sounds Expensive

"Back Up Until it Sounds Expensive" is a Bill Schreiberism. I had the opportunity to try this today.

If you're going to do damage to a vehicle, make sure it's not your own. Or make sure it is your own. I haven't decided.

Today I led an Everglades trip on my day off. The boss is away in Vegas for his 20th wedding anniversary. Manfred our senior guide has driven 5 days in a row, so I get to drive. With the boss away I chose to drive the primo Mercedez-Benz Sprinter. It's nice. Seats 12 comfortably. Great speaker system, room to walk down the aisle between the seats. Great views from every seat.

I also asked MaLe to go on the full day trip for her first time. Since we had only 5 travelers booked it would be no problem. We only go out if we have 4 or more people and when 3 of the 5 canceled at the last minute, I figured we were in for an interesting day. The two ladies from Pennsylvania had gone with us before and knew the routine, so it was bound to be a fun day.
Typically I don't go on the Everglades National Park boat tour. The 1 1/2 hour trip travels through the 10,000 islands in Florida Bay and although it's a nice cruise, once you've heard the boat captains puns, you don't need to go again. But MaLe was along today so I decided to go. While I took care of the tickets inside the gift shop, MaLe and our 2 travelers boarded the boat. The boat doesn't leave without our tickets, so nothing to fear. Until the boat left without me.

Since I never go, the boat captain insisted that I wouldn't be going today despite MaLe's pleas. Slightly shocked, I hung my head like Charlie Brown and plunked myself down on a bench to wait for their return. This became boring after 5 minutes and I drove the primo Mercedez-Benz Sprinter down to Chokoloskee Island to see the sites. There's an old turn of the century general store which has been converted to a museum that I planned to visit. They have old Seminole fabrics and clothing on display, various antiquities from the old rum running and pot smuggling days and a variety of other historical artifacts. There's not much of a parking area. Just a few sandy spots among the Australian Pines and Coconut Palms, so I chose one and began to back in. Checked the left mirror. Checked the right mirror. Slowly backing in and BAM!

$%#%# PALM TREE!

I backed into a palm tree! The slight dent I could deal with but the jolt shattered the glass which exploded all over the back seat of the van.

Think. Quick. I was shot at by an old island coot. An old fart backed into me. A skunk ape hurled a coconut through the window. Ann Coulter finally exacted her revenge against me and head butted the back window....I need an excuse. I need to LIE!

But after coming up with too many poor excuses I decided what I knew all along. I'll tell the truth and accept the consequences.

Tune in Tuesday morning to find out where the truth gets me. It may be expensive.

And what did they see on the boat cruise? Dolphins, Manatees and Bald Eagles!