Gifts of the Wildly Unexpected for Father’s Day
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Marty Picard and his wife, Mary, taken on a ship off British Columbia. The photo is courtesy of their daughter, Aurora Jayne. Aurora fondly calls her parents "great adventurers."
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For further information, contact:
Janice Nearing,
Director of Public Relations
Phone: (407) 539-0990
E-mail: jnearing@savethemanatee.org
Note: A high resolution jpeg (300 dpi) of a manatee image, as well as a photo of New Yorker Marty Picard and his wife Mary, are available upon request.
Also, ask for the Club’s Father’s Day public service advertisements, available in three sizes!
For Immediate Release
Finding an out-of-the-ordinary Father’s Day gift can often be challenging. Aurora Jayne from upstate New York decided to adopt a manatee for her dad, Marty Picard, last year. “He’s a great outdoorsman and loves nature,” said Aurora. “I thought a manatee adoption would be a special and unusual gift, so I adopted Howie from Save the Manatee Club’s adoption program. I chose Howie because my dad has a boundless sense of humor, and according to Howie’s biography, this particular manatee spends the winter months around Florida’s Blue Spring State Park, and he loves to tip the manatee research canoe, along with whoever’s in it. I found that to be very funny and I knew my dad would, too.”
Gift adoptions cost $25 and include a color photo, biography, and adoption certificate of the chosen manatee, a membership handbook, a personalized gift card, a year’s membership in Save the Manatee Club, and four printed newsletters and six e-newsletters throughout the year. Shipping is free within the United States. Also, each new member who joins the Adopt-A-Manatee® program online for a $35 tax-deductible donation, will also receive the new official Club T-shirt with a full color tropical design by renowned Florida artist, Nancy Blauers.
There are 33 real, living manatee adoptees with known histories to choose from in the Club’s Florida adoption programs. Manatees available include adoptees at Blue Spring State Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, the Tampa Bay area, and along the East Coast.
Aurora first learned about manatees in elementary school, and she has adored them ever since. Her family supported her enthusiasm and Aurora was allowed to adopt her first manatee, Sweetgums, who died years ago from a boat strike. “Protecting animals of all kinds is important to me. Manatees are beautiful, gentle creatures who can’t defend themselves, so I’m happy to do what I can to help, ” she said.
Florida’s official state marine mammal, manatees are listed as endangered at the state, federal, and international levels. The population is estimated to be about 5,000 concentrated year-round in Florida.
Patrick Rose, aquatic biologist and Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club, remains concerned about the manatee’s future. “Manatees cannot afford another year of record watercraft mortality like they experienced in 2009, where 97 were killed by boat strikes," said Rose. "Over 500 manatees have already died this year from all causes, mostly from cold stress due to the prolonged cold weather over the winter months. That’s 10% of the entire known population! On top of that is the worst oil spill in America’s history, caused by the explosion in April of a drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana. If efforts to stop its progress fail, the consequences could be catastrophic for manatees and other wildlife. Manatees are now widely dispersed in the very areas that could be most affected by the spill.”
Funds raised from the Club’s adoption programs go toward numerous manatee conservation and education programs.
“One of the most important aspects of Save the Manatee Club’s work is getting the message out,” added Aurora. “I have faith that the Club will ceaselessly fight for the protection of manatees.”
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