マナティーの背に「トランプ」の文字　米当局が捜査開始

【マイアミＡＦＰ＝時事】「TRUMP（トランプ）」と背に書かれたマナティーが見つかったことを受け、米フロリダ州の米魚類野生生物局（FWS）は11日、情報提供を呼び掛けた。（写真は資料写真）
　フロリダ州の地元紙シトラス・カウンティ・クロニクルが、ドナルド・トランプ米大統領の姓と同じ「トランプ」の文字が刻まれたマナティーが、ゆっくりと泳ぐ姿を捉えた動画を公表したことがきっかけとなった。
　ＦＷＳの捜査官クレイグ・キャバナ氏は同紙に対し、現在進行中の捜査についてコメントすることはできないと話した。
　同氏は保護動物を傷つけた場合、５万ドル（約５２０万円）以下の罰金および１年以下の禁錮を科される可能性があると指摘した。
　被害を受けたマナティーは１０日に見つかった。その４日前の６日、米首都ワシントンではトランプ氏の支持者らが連邦議会議事堂に突入したが、マナティーの落書きがいつ行われたかは分かっていない。
　マナティーが撮影されたフロリダ州西岸のホモサッサ川にはこの時期、温かい水を求めてマナティーが多数集まってくる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/01/13-08:29）

Wildlife authorities in Florida on Monday appealed for help in identifying who was responsible for scratching the name Trump on to the hide of a manatee.
The appeal by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) came after the Citrus County Chronicle published video that clearly showed the name of the US president etched on to the back of one of the large, slow-moving marine mammals.
Craig Cavanna, an investigating officer for the federal service, told the local newspaper that he was unable to comment on a current, ongoing investigation.
He said whoever was responsible faced a fine of up to $50,000 and a year in a federal prison for harming a protected species.
The manatee was spotted on Sunday, four days after Donald Trump supporters stormed the seat of the US Congress in Washington, leaving five people dead. It was not clear when the animal was harmed.
It was swimming in the waters of the Homosassa River on the west coast of Florida, where the animals gather at this time of year in search of warmer waters.
The shallow waters of the canals make the manatees accessible to tourists who take boat excursions to swim among the large but harmless creatures. That also makes the creatures more vulnerable to attack by humans.
Florida is home to around 7,500 of the gentle herbivores, which are related to elephants and have whiskers on their muzzles and a spoon tail. They are also known as sea cows.
Despite their size -- they can grow to four meters in length and weigh half a ton -- they are easily hurt by the boats that speed around the state's waterways and coastal waters.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, of the 637 manatees that died in 2020, 90 were victims of collisions with boats and 15 others were killed by other interactions with humans.