Something Fishy: Manatee migration

Florida manatee found in waters off Cape Cod

Posted by Sarah van Schagen at 10:10 AM on 31 Aug 2006

Read more about: oceans | wildlife

Ahoy me hearties! 'Tis I, back again from the briny deep. Me spyglass has been focused lately on Florida's favorite aquatic mammal: ~~Shamu~~ the manatee.

Seems at least one of the slow-moving "sea cows," which usually make their home off the Florida coast, has traveled all the way up to Cape Cod. Another manatee (or perhaps the same one) was spotted in the Hudson River two weeks ago.

Says one wildlife biologist, "It's, to our knowledge, the northernmost sighting of a manatee ever documented." Researchers aren't sure why the animal went so far north, but suspect it's because waters in that area have been unusually warm. Could this be global warming related? Will manatees soon be dodging boat motors off Nova Scotia?

Interestingly, and related to this discussion on the intelligence of dolphins being called into question, one biologist has recently declared that manatees are actually much smarter than we once thought.

Far from being slow learners, manatees, it turns out, are as adept at experimental tasks as dolphins, though they are slower-moving and, having no taste for fish, more difficult to motivate.

Blimey! I had no idea. Here's another surprising fact: It's widely believed that manatees are the inspiration for the myth of the mermaid, as sailors may have mistaken the animals -- which can weigh in excess of 2,000 lbs. -- for the half-fish, half-human creatures. Me, I don't see the resemblance ... but maybe that's the eyepatch talkin'. Har har arrrr ...

For story: Something Fishy: Manatee migration
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Even with an eye patch, you have to be full of

rum to mistake one of these things for a mermaid.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 5:38 PM on 31 Aug 2006

Yo ho ho

Yes, Erica Goode's long piece in Tuesday's NYTimes is fascinating. I like that detail about how the manatees at the research center are not easy to motivate, in contrast to dolphins, because they are herbivores.

But I think that line of research, studying their intelligence, is entirely plausible. There is so much we still have to learn about both animal intelligence and also human psychology. When it comes to neuroscience and psychology, we are now at the stage where chemistry was in the 13th century.

The Kaufman Guide to Mammals of North America puts the northernmost extent of the manatee's range at Chesapeake Bay. But of course they would migrate there only in the warmer months, because they normally require warm water.

It seems the experts think that this one seen in New York harbor is the same as the one seen off southern Cape Cod and Rhode Island, and is the same as one that traveled nearly the same distance a few years ago. In that case, all we have is a single very adventurous individual. On the other hand, if these are different individuals, then we must take seriously Sarah's suggestion, that the manatees seem to be beginning to react to a pattern of warmer waters north of their usual range.

Meanwhile, let us hope that this manatee up north, or this pair of manatees, make it back south in time before the cold season sets in. Also, I fear some Connecticut Yankee may find it, and not recognize what it is, and try to do it harm.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 12:29 AM on 01 Sep 2006

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