Gentle Animal’s Plight

For the first time, researchers have found manatees suffering from viral infections, raising worries that the endangered sea mammal, also known as sea cow, now has a new threat. The virus caused skin lesions for two manatees living in captivity in Florida, while two others with similar lesions have not yet been tested. “My concern is that there are only about 3,000 of these animals left, and they’re under such pressure from man that they don’t need any other pressures,” said Dr. Gregory Bossart, a University of Miami veterinarian and pathologist who first identified the virus in …

For the first time, researchers have found manatees suffering from viral infections, raising worries that the endangered sea mammal, also known as sea cow, now has a new threat. The virus caused skin lesions for two manatees living in captivity in Florida, while two others with similar lesions have not yet been tested. “My concern is that there are only about 3,000 of these animals left, and they’re under such pressure from man that they don’t need any other pressures,” said Dr. Gregory Bossart, a University of Miami veterinarian and pathologist who first identified the virus in his lab.