The US Fish and Wildlife Service spotted a manatee in the Blue Hole headwaters in North Florida with the word 'Trump' scraped into its back. The wildlife authoriries have started an investigation to look into the matter.
Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They move slowly, which has made them vulnerable to fishing nets, motorboat engines and human interaction.
"Manatees aren't billboards, and people shouldn't be messing with these sensitive and imperiled animals for any reason," USA Today quoted Jaclyn Lopez, the center's Florida director as saying. She called it "political graffiti."
According to a report in Citrus County Chronicle on Tuesday, the animal was reported to federal authorities over the weekend, when it was discovered with the words "Trump" scrapped in its back.
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) made an appeal on Monday asking people to help identify the people who were responsible for scratching this on to the hide of a manatee.
The harassment of a manatee, protected by the Endangered Species Act, is a Class A, federal criminal offense punishable by a USD 50,000 fine and/or up to one-year in federal prison.
The massive sea cow was swimming in the Homosassa River in Citrus County when it was spotted with the graffiti on its body.
"It's been My experience that this is very out of character for this community. Wildlife conservation is a core value in Citrus County. That's why it's called the Nature Coast," Craig Cavanna, senior federal wildlife officer and current investigating officer, was quoted as saying.
The manatee did not appear to be hurt, "because it seemed that the word was etched into algae on its body".
Manatees are counted in the list of the Endangered Species Act and are usually found in the fresh water in the Gulf of Mexico, Amazon River and the west coast of Africa.
This attack has been spotted a few days after Trump supporters took over the Capitol building with th aim to intervene offical certification of Joe Biden's victory in the US election.
