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October 31, 2006

Misdirected Manatee Meets Memphis

It's interesting what newsworthy events you remember from your childhood. I was in third grade in 1986 and two memories stick out in my mind - one that rocked the nation and the other was barely a blip on the radar.

In January of 1986, our whole classroom gathered especially to watch the televised Challenger liftoff. The mission was especially exciting to us kids because one of the astronauts, Christa McAuliffe, had been selected to be the first school teacher ever to go into space. When the shuttle broke up, the TV was quickly shut off and we were hustled out to recess instead.

Still, when I hear about manned space missions nowadays, I don't automatically think of the Challenger. I don't think that's a testiment of how minimal its impact was on me, but how far the space program has come since then. Still, when I hear about marine mammals venturing too close to people, I am reminded of the other news story I remember from that year. One that barely made the paper.

For 14 months, a young female beluga whale disported herself along the coast of Connecticut, making friends with fascinated humans. ''It would follow boats, it would swim with swimmers, it would allow itself to be patted by people from boats,'' recalled Laura Kezer of the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium.

Last week, the whale, nicknamed B. W., was shot to death by someone who had a .22-caliber gun and none of the sense of mystery and wonder that B. W. had awakened in so many people. Her body, found floating belly-up in New Haven Harbor, was towed to the Mystic aquarium, where scientists performed an autopsy.

Most people would argue that the loss of human life in the Challenger accident should have resounded more powerfully than the death of one beluga whale, but in my mind, they stand equal. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I was willing to accept that the Challenger disaster had a logical explanation - it was an accident - while nothing could make me understand how a young female beluga whale could have ended up shot to death.

According to Wikipedia, there are about 100,000 beluga whales alive today, whereas all three species of manatee are vulnerable to extinction with only about 3000 left in the Florida region, with populations decreasing steadily.

MEMPHIS - A misdirected manatee that swam 700 miles up the Mississippi River will be taken back to warmer waters by truck, a wildlife biologist said Wednesday.

The docile marine mammal, about 8 feet long, has been hanging around for several days near the downtown Memphis riverfront in the chilly waters of the Wolf River Harbor.

...

Authorities said they had no idea what led the manatee to enter the Mississippi and head north.

Manatees are an endangered species found mostly from the coasts of Alabama to South Carolina, although they sometimes stray farther north in the summer. In August, a manatee was tracked as it swam up the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey before finally appearing in the Hudson River at Manhattan.

But this time of year, manatees normally would be moving into Florida rivers, not the Mississippi, said Pat Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club in Maitland, Fla.

When manatees get too cold they stop eating and their digestive systems shut down.

More at: Manatee detours up Mississippi to Memphis

Photo Credit: USGS

Posted by sorsha at October 31, 2006 4:04 PM