Florida police ask public to stop reporting manatees having group sex
‘We can assure you they are more than fine,’ the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office assured
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Your support makes all the difference.Florida officials asked people to stop reporting about the mass of manatees because “they are more than fine” – they are just busy mating.
“We get calls all the time from citizens when they see this, believing the manatees are in distress,” said Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post over the weekend.
“We can assure you they are more than fine,” the police wrote, with a video – playing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in the background –capturing a multitude of manatees huddled together near the waterline.
“Manatees actually mate in herds like these and often they are near the shore,” especially in the summer months, the sheriff’s office added.
According to Manatees Swim Center, the creature’s breeding season typically runs from March to September, when “mating aggregations, usually composed of groups of 10-15 individuals, occur in shallow coastal waters.”
Save The Manatee also reported that people believing that the manatees are in distress is not uncommon: “The activity can attract onlookers who are either curious about the commotion or concerned that the manatees in the estrous herd are injured, stranded, or in distress.”
However, the organisation warned that “it is important to only observe from a respectful distance. Any disturbances to the mating herd may disrupt this natural behavior and jeopardise the reproductive cycle. In addition, adult manatees are large, powerful creatures and interfering with a mating herd is inherently dangerous.”
This isn’t the first time Florida police have asked citizens to steer clear of the rambunctious manatees. Last summer, the Sarasota police department wrote, “If you see a manatee mating herd, observe respectfully from a distance. Do NOT touch.”
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