Meet a Manatee: Flicker
Her scars are a poignant reminder of the dangers
manatees face each day
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A recent photo of Flicker taken in March 2010 at Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend power plant clearly shows her many scars. (Photo by Megan J. Martz, FWC)
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When you first see Flicker, you can't help but notice her many scars. Most adult manatees in Florida waters have scars from collisions with boats, and Flicker has had more than her share. But that hasn't stopped her from racking up manatee miles on her frequent trips around Tampa Bay and along Florida’s west coast.
When Flicker was first identified in 1983 near Ft. Myers, Florida, a researcher from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) commented that the small propeller scars on her back looked like flickering flames. That's how she got her name. Researchers use scar patterns to identify individual animals and, sadly, Flicker is an easily recognizable manatee. She has had more than one run-in with a boat, and her tail is missing a few chunks from contact with a propeller. Flicker has only one flipper, which may have resulted from one of her many entanglements in fishing and crab trap lines.
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| Flicker, when she was first identified in 1983. (Photo by Jim Reid, USGS Sirenia Project) |
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In the winter, Flicker is most often sighted at Tampa Electric Company's (TECO) power plant in Apollo Beach, Florida. Manatees can't tolerate water temperatures below 21° C (70° F), and they gather near natural springs or warm water outflow of power plants when the weather turns colder. Besides visiting TECO, Flicker makes trips across the bay to visit Progress Energy’s Bartow power plant. She has been spotted at a canal on the east side of Old Tampa Bay, in Coffee Pot Bayou, and in the summer at Culbreath Isles, all of which demonstrate her extensive use of Tampa Bay.
Flicker has had more than her share of entanglement woes. A few years ago, she literally got caught up in trouble that turned into a real adventure for her and her rescuers. Reported in Coffee Pot Bayou with crab trap line and a buoy wrapped around her tail, she towed the line and buoy almost 10 nautical miles before picking up more line and another buoy in the Alafia River. And then she got caught in two mooring lines attached to a houseboat! By the time the FWC rescue staff had arrived, Flicker — who is a big manatee — had stripped off one of the buoys and almost swamped a law enforcement boat. It took three attempts by the rescue staff (along with a couple of cleats and several planks from the houseboat) before she was free.
More recently, a citizen in Venice found Flicker entangled in another crab trap line and buoy. The man attempted to stay with her until help could arrive, but bad weather forced him off the water. Two weeks later, an enforcement officer in the Imperial River removed the line and buoy from Flicker. The buoy was tracked to Hillsborough County, indicating that Flicker had traveled over 115 miles after becoming entangled! Later that same year, she was spotted in a canal on the east side of Old Tampa Bay with a fishing lure and line attached to her tail. Flicker left this area just as rescue staff arrived to try and help her, but a month later the lure and line were gone when she arrived at TECO.
Luckily, Flicker is a resilient manatee. Last March, she was spotted with fellow adoptees Elsie and Vector at TECO, seeking relief from the unseasonably chilly winter weather in Florida. During a prolonged cold period in January, water temperatures in Tampa Bay had dipped into the 40s, and large numbers of manatees huddled at TECO and other warm water sites around the state. Many manatees died as a result of the severe cold last winter. But once again, Flicker was a survivor.
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Flicker rests in the warm water effluent of Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend power plant, where she is most often sighted in the winter. (Photo by Megan J. Martz, FWC)
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| Stash Your Trash! |
When you are out boating, please recycle your litter or throw it in a proper trash container. Flicker is an example of how debris in waterways, such as discarded plastic bags or fishing lures or lines, is dangerous to manatees, other aquatic animals, and swimmers, too!
Here's what you can do: |
Recover: Whenever possible, retrieve and properly dispose of any fishing line you encounter.
Maintain: Consider the age and strength of your fishing line.
Store loose pieces of fishing line. Even tag ends cut from leaders can be stored easily for proper disposal. Cut an X into the lid of a film or tennis ball canister to make it easy to poke the pieces of line through for safekeeping. |
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Recycle fishing line at local tackle shops or bins posted at boat ramps or piers. In Florida, you can get a list of recycling sites at www.fishinglinerecycling.org.
Participate in local beach and river cleanup events.
Volunteer to sponsor an outdoor monofilament recycling bin and empty it of line on a monthly basis. |
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