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Manatee Tragedy Not Over: Hundreds Die From
Cold Stress |
| Krystal, a young, cold-stressed
manatee, on the day of her rescue at Three Sisters Springs in
December. (Photo by Tracy Colson) |
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Rescue and Rehabilitation is Needed:
Please Donate to Our Emergency Rescue Fund
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| The pool at Homosassa Springs
Wildlife State Park that is being used to house medically stable
rescued manatees. (Photo by Tracy Colson) |
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On March 6th, I
received a call from the park manager at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State
Park. He called to ask for our help. You may have read the tragic news about
hundreds of manatees who died from cold stress this year. Substantial
numbers of cold-stressed manatees have also been rescued and Florida's
three critical care facilities are at capacity. The wildlife park has been
asked to house some medically stable rescued manatees in their above-ground
pool to free up space at the critical care facilities for manatees needing
rescue now. However, the water in that pool had to be warmed considerably,
especially for one young manatee still recovering from cold stress. The
park, which is one of Florida's state parks, operated by the Department of
Environmental Protection, asked us for up to $24,000 to cover the costs of
heating the pool and providing veterinary care for the rescued manatees for
two months. Of course, we said "yes," and manatees were transferred to
Homosassa on March 11th and 12th.
This is one important role of Save the Manatee Club -- we step in when
others can't to make sure manatees are protected. But
we can't do this work without you, our supporters. The money we have
committed to the wildlife park, in addition to funding we have already
provided or committed to provide for other critical projects, will deplete
our Emergency Rescue Fund -- a fund we use to help manatees all over the
world.
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A recent photo of Krystal
at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park pool. (Photo
by Tracy Colson)
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We receive requests for funding and
support almost daily. Just last week, a nonprofit group in Belize asked
for funds to build a new pool at their rehabilitation facility. In
December, we gave $3,600 to help rescue manatees trapped behind a dam
in West Africa. Soon, the spring and summer boating season will begin
and sadly, this likely means manatees will need to be rescued from
horrific collisions with boats. |
We are constantly faced with difficult decisions and sometimes must say
"no" to an important funding request because we already said "yes" to
someone else. That is a horrible feeling when we know that all of these
individuals are doing such important work for manatees. As soon as I said
"yes" to the park manager, I knew we would need to act fast to replenish
our Emergency Rescue Fund to ensure that we will be able to respond to the
continual calls for help that reach us from around the world, and I began
to worry about how we would do that.
Our current requests for assistance already exceed our ability to
respond. Please help us respond to these important requests by making a
donation to our Emergency Rescue Fund today. Anything you can give WILL
make a difference for manatees.
Thank you so much for your help and support!
Dr. Katie Tripp
Director of Science and Conservation
Save the Manatee Club
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