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Manatee killed, mutilated; leads sought from public

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 13, 2006

HOMESTEAD - Wildlife officials called the capture and mutilation of a manatee one of the worst cases of abuse inflicted on the endangered sea mammal in recent memory, and have asked the public's help to find the people responsible.

A boater reported the manatee corpse - floating with its throat slit and its flippers cut off - in the waters of Biscayne National Park off Homestead.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission scheduled a necropsy today to determine what killed the gentle marine mammal.

Wildlife officers think it was killed late Thursday or early Friday.

"It's pretty disgraceful that a manatee was treated that way," said National Park Service officer Brian Fields said. "They're protected and to see that happening, it's really disturbing. This is the first time I've seen this with manatees."

Anyone with information is urged to contact the National Park Service.

State officials have proposed downgrading the manatee's status from endangered to threatened. An annual census found 3,116 manatees in Florida waters in February.

[Last modified November 13, 2006, 00:11:20]