Nearly 600 manatees died in Florida waters in 2020; draft rules could help deaths

[RatioTile]

That is a very niche topic in terms of the Mexican pupfish and I wasn't suggesting that their maintenance ex-situ is meaningless given that there is no natural habitat left to return to. As you know I am very much in favour of these species persisting ex-situ but unquestionably it would be better if there was habitat still left to conserve them in-situ and we have to desperately try to avoid this happening with other species.

Well it is a view that is problematic and my advice would be to try to tackle this bias that you have because it is almost certainly erroneous and misplaced. If we are honest it is largely the Global North that is the bigger problem in terms of climate change and overconsumption of natural resources.

This is true. Many of the early Western conservation figures like John Muir and Aldo Leopold were racist and had a fear of Malthusian overpopulation in the Global South and the accompanying resource depletion, and only in the past few years have I read articles challenging this mentality.

 

[amur leopard]

Back on topic, I was shocked to read about a manatee that was found in Florida with 'Trump' etched onto its back. Does this kind of thing happen regularly?

Florida manatee with 'Trump' etched on back prompts investigation

 

[red river hog]

Back on topic, I was shocked to read about a manatee that was found in Florida with 'Trump' etched onto its back. Does this kind of thing happen regularly?

Florida manatee with 'Trump' etched on back prompts investigation

Not that I’ve heard.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Back on topic, I was shocked to read about a manatee that was found in Florida with 'Trump' etched onto its back. Does this kind of thing happen regularly?

Florida manatee with 'Trump' etched on back prompts investigation

This is absolutely disgusting !

 

[zoomaniac]

This is also the subspecies of West Indian manatee that is less represented in captivity. The Antillean one seems to breed regularly in Europe and Singapore (every few months I seem to get a notification of a captive birth) but the Florida one doesn’t seem to be bred much or at all by SeaWorld or the Ohio zoos.

Is breeding of the Florida subspecies in captivity allowed? I have in mind the I have read the opposite and all zoo animals are rehab animals, that should be released after the necessary medical treatment or - if not possible - getting a safe heaven for the rest of their lives (similar to the situation of captive sea otters). Anyone who knows it for sure?