Federal Officials Are Looking For Whoever Etched ‘TRUMP’ On Florida Manatee’s Back

Federal Officials Are Looking For Whoever Etched ‘TRUMP’ On Florida Manatee’s Back

Topline

Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are trying to figure out how a manatee on Florida's Gulf Coast ended up with the word “TRUMP” scraped into its back, spurring an investigation into the vulnerable animal's possible harassment.

A manatee swims beside a tour boat in the Crystal River Preserve State Park on January 07, 2020, in ... [+] Crystal River, Florida.



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Key Facts





Florida tour boat captain Hailey Warrington spotted a manatee with this unusual marking on Sunday while boating on the Homosassa River, roughly 60 miles north of Tampa Bay.













Warrington told Tampa television station Fox 13 she reported the incident to authorities, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is now leading an investigation, a spokesperson confirmed to Forbes (the Citrus County Chronicle first reported on the incident).







Warrington said the manatee did not appear to have any permanent scars because the perpetrators seemed to only scrape some of the algae off its body, though