Manatees get support from Jackson Girl Scouts

~ Scout troop goes to Florida to study marine biology for Gold Award.

Jackson Girl Scout Troop 147 took a trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., recently to learn more about marine biology and work toward the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award for Scouts age 14 to 18.

A two-day tour with marine mammal biologist Katie Brill at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory put them through some rigorous, not-always-pleasant training in a field where the goal is to help animals.

Manatees are marine mammals who are often called "sea cows" because their typical size is 10 to 12 feet and 1,000 to 1,500 pounds. Perhaps only 2,500 are left in the United States, so they are considered rare. The animals' swimming speeds can reach 20 mph, but they usually cruise at 2 to 6 mph. They prefer shallow saltwater bays, slow-moving rivers, canals, estuaries and coastal waters, often colliding with seacraft and resulting in injury.

Big project

Assistant leader Carmen Simpher said the troop worked for a year and a half to raise money for the trip. "A lot of the girls are into sports and to keep them interested we had to work toward something big," she said.

She and leader Donna Schuette guided the girls in this direction which seemed like it would open many new doors for them while meeting some of the requirements for the Gold Award. One Girl Scout had her first visit to a beach, two others flew for the first time and another's interest in veterinary medicine was piqued. One of the criteria for the Gold Award is to create a change or action with long-term possibilities. The troop will soon begin fund-raising efforts for the marine mammals.

The lab must respond to reports on dead manatees, and the majority of recovered manatee carcasses are transported to the laboratory for necropsy. To teach the five Girl Scouts how to assist in the procedure, Brill had them put together skeletons of a manatee, dolphin, sea lion and otter before tackling a necropsy.

"Learning about the skeletons first, helped them know where to put the knife," Brill said.

Learning experience

Perhaps because Lauren Schuette was the oldest Scout at age 15, she was selected to cut the head off the manatee.

"It was hard at first to jump right into the necropsy because I had never done anything like that before, and it was very different. But then I decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of chance, and then once I got into it, it was actually kind of fun," she said.

Brill gave Schuette part of the manatee's earbone for her brave contribution in the necropsy, in line with a practice observed by natives who would keep the bone under their tongue for good luck and to later wear on necklaces.

"The smell was very intense," said assistant leader Simpher. The manatee they were assigned to had been dead for a few days and, although they tried to determine the final cause of death by cutting it up and taking samples, the manatee was just too decomposed.

"It was unique to find out that the carcass is used for fertilizer and biodiesel fuel," Simpher said.

Besides responding to reports on dead manatees, the pathobiology lab also uses information gathered on the animals to affect public policy and for outreach in promoting awareness that supports public vigilance to protect the animals.

Visit to the zoo

After the necropsy the Girl Scouts visited the Lowry Park Zoo, where they went behind the scenes and saw the rewarding part of manatee rescues. Manatees being rehabilitated would later be released back into the wild. Tracking those released into the wild is done with GPS tags or simply by noting the scars manatees have incurred from propeller blades or other invasions of habitat.

During the trip, Cassie Simpher said they met with younger Girl Scouts and their mothers. When the younger Scouts learned of the manatee adventure, they were motivated to stay in Scouting.

The troop also went on a snorkel cruise to swim with manatees in the wild. Several girls touched them. Schuette remarked, "You would think it was blubbery, almost like a dolphin. But they are not like that at all. They actually have skin like an elephant's would be, because they are closely related to elephants."

In order to find them, the girls had to follow their air bubbles and look for the tips of their tails. The deepest the mammals swim is about 15 feet and they have to breathe every three minutes.

Brill said, "All five Girl Scouts and their moms fell in love with the manatees."

To make a contribution to the troop's fund-raising efforts, call Simpher at 243-1516.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133