The Conversation (0)
Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu
Jan 12, 2021
USFWS
A video of a manatee in Florida with “Trump” scraped onto its back has sparked outrage on social media, and users are now trying to help find the perpetrators.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is looking for the person or people responsible for carving or somehow writing the president’s name on the “sea-cow’s” back.
The mammal was found in the Homosassa River on Florida's “Nature Coast”.
Harassment of manatees, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act, is a federal criminal offence punishable by a $50,000 fine and up to a year in prison.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is investigating the case, said that manatee did not seem to be seriously injured as it appeared “the word was written in algae on the animal’s back”.
The majority of voters in Citrus County backed Trump in the 2020 presidential election, and he also carried the state.
Social media users expressed their fury and shared how the public can report any tips.
⚠️HELP FIND WHO MUTILATED A MANATEE: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating who carved the word "Trump" on… https://t.co/xCj81IEHlg— Eric Feigl-Ding (@Eric Feigl-Ding) 1610388100
Here is the video of the poor manatee that had "TRUMP" carved into its body. Minding it's own business and some m… https://t.co/Hx63s22rD3— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@Yashar Ali 🐘) 1610401064
Some news stories just hit you worse than others. The abuse of an innocent manatee hit me very hard today. If you… https://t.co/YEgx6d3nbm— Danielle Decker Jones (@Danielle Decker Jones) 1610411407
Some spoke about the importance of protecting one of Florida’s unofficial mascots.
Manatees in Florida are practically sacred. I spent my entire childhood trying to save them by “adopting” (sponsori… https://t.co/98Q5hBKjyA— former baby (@former baby) 1610410512
@DrEricDing As a former employee of FLDEP who oversaw one of our manatee protect programs, I find this reprehensibl… https://t.co/BySNl5LN2S— The Kid (@The Kid) 1610398379
Many were outraged about the news.
“The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating the harassment of a manatee...reported to federal authorities ov… https://t.co/lhvxomGTGQ— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞) 1610386446
Who does this?! https://t.co/w6wTVO4ESu— Susan Del Percio (@Susan Del Percio) 1610410027
They are vandals. On a planetary scale. On a national scale. On a manatee scale. "Someone Etched ‘Trump’ on a Flor… https://t.co/vq0wg4ITRh— Naomi Klein (@Naomi Klein) 1610419260
Something about Trump just brings out cruelty in people. https://t.co/YPG1GJLk4K— Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben) 1610419101
I am too hormonal to see a white supremacists name carved into a fucking manatee without crying, I. HATE. IT. HERE.— lauren (@lauren) 1610429835
@yashar Brutal. Masochists.— Patricia Arquette (@Patricia Arquette) 1610392963
Others supported the view that the letters had been etched into algae on the manatee’s back.
@DrEricDing @leonalioness6 Scraped, not carved. As in, removed the dirt and algae off of its back. Still illegal,… https://t.co/h8O14aSIlw— GrainOverGrit (@GrainOverGrit) 1610389295
@yashar To bring some uh, light to this subject - manatees often have a LOT of algae growing on them. This looks le… https://t.co/OPDKPlZbjV— Dr. Penguinni (@Dr. Penguinni) 1610404221
The Center for Biological Diversity is offering a $5,000 reward for information which helps the conviction of those responsible for the act.
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