佛罗里达州海牛开始向暖水区迁徙：鱼类与野生动物保护委员会提醒船只慢行避让
佛罗里达州鱼类与野生动物保护委员会（FWC）11月13日提醒，11月是海牛意识月，随着冷锋南下，佛罗里达州的海牛开始季节性迁徙、前往全州各处暖水水域，居民与游客在水上活动时应给海牛让出空间、放慢船速并注意瞭望。
FWC 海牛管理项目协调员 Ashley LaVere 说，海牛靠暖水地点熬过冬天，水温降到华氏68度以下时，它们会前往佛罗里达州的泉水、发电厂排水区等暖水地点避寒；船只与个人水上摩托使用者在海牛迁徙途中更容易遇上它们。
委员会说，海牛体型虽大，在水里却不易被发现。出船时应指定专人瞭望海牛露出的鼻子、背部、尾巴或胸鳍，以及水面上海牛游过留下的圆形「足迹」；戴偏光眼镜、慢速行驶并遵守海牛保护区的限速规定，都能减少碰撞。船只撞击是佛罗里达州海牛面临的主要威胁之一。
委员会还提醒，在暖水地点观赏海牛时应保持距离：海牛是受保护物种，骚扰、喂食、干扰或伤害海牛均属违法，把海牛惊出暖水区可能让它们游入足以致命的冷水。发现受伤、受困、生病或死亡的海牛，应拨打 FWC 野生动物警报热线 888-404-3922 报告，不要自行上手处理。
（来源：佛罗里达州鱼类与野生动物保护委员会）
Florida Manatees Are on the Move to Warm Water: FWC Urges Boaters to Slow Down and Look Out
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminded residents and visitors on November 13 that November is Manatee Awareness Month, and that as cold fronts move in, Florida's manatees are beginning their seasonal movements to warm-water sites around the state. Boaters can help by giving manatees space, going slow and keeping an eye out on the water.
Ashley LaVere, the FWC's Manatee Management Program Coordinator, said manatees rely on warm-water sites to survive the winter, seeking refuge at Florida's springs, power plant discharge areas and other warm sites when water temperatures drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and that boaters and personal watercraft users are more likely to encounter manatees as they travel to their winter habitats.
The commission said manatees can be hard to spot despite their size. Boaters should designate a lookout watching for snouts, backs, tails or flippers breaking the surface, or the circular 'footprints' manatees leave on the water, and should wear polarized glasses, go slow and obey manatee protection zones. Boat strikes are a major threat to Florida manatees.
People viewing manatees at warm-water sites should keep their distance, the FWC said: manatees are a protected species, and it is illegal to harass, feed, disturb or harm them, and disturbance can drive them out of warm water into potentially life-threatening cold water. Injured, distressed, sick or dead manatees should be reported promptly to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922), and should not be handled.
(Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
来源：佛罗里达州鱼类与野生动物保护委员会
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：佛罗里达海牛。美国鱼类与野生动物管理局照片，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A Florida manatee. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo, via Wikimedia Commons.
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