SEE IT: Man on boat pokes manatee, startles several, gets a high five

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A drone video appears to show a man poking a manatee from a boat, startling several of them, and then getting a high five from someone with him.

The video was shared on the Facebook page of See Through Canoe. WFLA reports it happened near the Gandy Bridge in the Tampa area.

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Specifically, the video shows a man in a red jacket using a pole to reach out and touch a manatee.  The manatee appears to get scared along with the others and quickly swim away from the surface.  Anyone familiar with manatees knows they are normally slow and docile; seeing them startle and swim quickly is an unusual sight.

“After the boater startled the manatees, the large aggregation of manatees left the area they were resting in just moments before,” See Through Canoe wrote on their Facebook post.  “Most of them eventually came back.”

The group said they shared the video with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before posting it.

Disturbing a manatee is a state and federal offense.    Manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Specials Act of 1973.  In Florida, they are protected by the Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978.