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Florida Woman Faces 60 Days in Jail After Trying to ‘Ride’ Wild Manatee

Nov. 24, 2012 9:34pm Erica Ritz

Ana Gutierrez Arrested After Trying to Ride Wild Manatee in Florida

(Photo: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office via NBC)

Have you ever tried to pet a wild animal? It’s probably not the safest thing to do, but it could also land you in jail with a hefty fine, it seems.

A 53-year-old Florida woman was arrested at the Sears where she works on Saturday after being photographed in late September playing with– and seemingly trying to “ride”– a wild manatee.

The Tampa Bay Times has the wild background to the story:

A bystander got photographs of a woman perched atop a manatee on Sept. 30, and the case gained attention after law-enforcement officials launched a public campaign several days later to identify her.

Shortly after Sheriff Bob Gualtieri’s Oct. 2 press conference to decry the alleged abuse of the animal, Gutierrez phoned the agency and admitted touching the manatee. She later told sheriff’s deputies she didn’t know that doing so was illegal.

The case was referred to the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney’s Office, which issued the misdemeanor arrest warrant.

Under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, sea cow molestation is a second-degree misdemeanor, an offense punishable by a $500 fine or up to 60 days in jail. [Emphasis added]

A 978-pound manatee is shown in this photo provided by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. (AP File Photo)

Yes, there is a “Manatee Sanctuary Act” that, according to NBC News, makes it “unlawful for any person at any time, by any means, or in any manner intentionally or negligently to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to molest, harass, or disturb any manatee.”

Less clear is how authorities determine if– by your negligence– you have annoyed a manatee.

Authorities added that the manatee was not physically hurt, but that the “psychological impact” of the encounter would be harder to evaluate, the Tampa Bay Times relates.

During a press conference Sheriff Gualtieri told Gutierrez to “go ride a jet ski.” She has been released from jail on a $1,500 bail.

Here is video of the authorities requesting the public’s help to find Gutierrez in early October, via ABC:

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Comments (176)

SPIN_MD
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 1:20pm
Well with a name like Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, it isn’t hard to speculate that she is Hispanic. I’m wondering if the leniency is because of that or maybe her immigration status. Could she one of those covered by the current President’s executive order?

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Uechi
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 1:14pm
Another bull crap Government regulation that does absolutely nothing to protect Manatees. I live in Florida,Manatees don’t turn belly up when you scratch them because they have back pain they do it because they like it and attention. Riding a Sea Cow maybe dumb but far from lethal. The two biggest killers of Manatees are boat propellers caused by idiots in speed boats and deaths from hypothermia in the winter. The whole thing is just some more crappola from the Feds.

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hi
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 12:49pm
Yet it is okay to kill a human right before he/she is born or to throw in a waste can if be/she survives an abortion.

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Truthmonster
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 12:30pm
OK! Since when did manatees start wearing caps? ,

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mcdonnal
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 12:09pm
I think that there is a provision in the law that says a mitigating factor is that the actor is smaller than the manatee. Looks like this case may be a slam dunk for the State.

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daxbrady
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:55am
I petted a manatee in 1993 on a diving trip in florida…. I wonder if I need to go and turn myself in…. lmao

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- tj1961
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:58am
  Swimming alongside a manatee is one thing….CLIMBING ON TOP OF ONE IS SOMETHING ELSE.
  
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BrownBear
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:20am
I’d prefer a law that preserves our endangered sanity:

“It is unlawful for any environmental extremist at any time, by any means, or in any manner annoy, molest, harass, or disturb everyone else.”

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lynnissmart
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:00am
I know that manatees are a protected species in Florida…..and I don’t live there! Ugh!

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tommy.tommy
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:54am
Why, Romney lost? It’s because of evil Bush let illegals come here”freely” back in the past and evil Obama continue it. What evil Bush started and now, we over run by illegals. America is dead by the two evils, now.

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- daxbrady
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:58am
  This can be twisted in many ways…. Its also easy to say that Obama won because there are too many stupid white people….. The minorities pool their vote why didn’t we?
  
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TROONORTH
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:22am
The problem with Manatees is that they are not too bright and do not recognize danger. That is why they will not get out of the way of boats for example. If any of you have been to Florida and seen a group of Manatees, you would have seen numerous animals with multiple scars on their backs, missing flippers and parts of tails torn off by boat propellers. It is not just swimming with these poor stupid animals that has been banned, but all interactions, to protect them from us.

Hmmm. Sea cow. Why did I just have a mental image of RosO’Donnellnel in a bikini? Must go fcounselinging now . …. . . .

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milo75
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:35am
When a wild animal has more protection the we do? TSA anyone?

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Nemo13
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:24am
I live in FL. The signes are everywhere and clearly visable. People here decided to make a law to protect the Manatee since it is endangered. Most people are ok with this. Unfortunately, there are always the idiots who don’t care / unaware of the worl around them, and have to do dumb things. Just like dog lovers who take the dogs for a walk to piss on the neighbors yard even though there are locals lawas against this. People don’t think. Should she be fined or jail time? Sure. Otherwise, why have a law? If not a big deal, like charging them $25, who would pay attention? If jail time, that wakes people up. Now we have some of you idiots on here thing what an ‘outrage’ it is to have a law like that. Are you on medication? Most likely. Not everything is a socialist movement, some things are decided by people and if the law needs to be changed, then the people will decide. How American, eh? Sit down and shaddap.

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- tj1961
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 5:09pm
  If there is ANYTHING positive about this whole thing it is this: RESPECT OUR WILDLIFE!!! If this fool were messing with a Bald Eagle would we have this banter? This country has made HUGE improvements to OUR environment and the manatee is a good example.
  
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freedomofspeech
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:05am
What is it? Are we to be to be part of the environment or not? Jet ski uses fossil fuel is that good for the environment? We ride horses has anyone evaluated the effects on their mentality? Can an alligator be prosecuted for harassing and killing a manatee? I have seen that happen. If I am minding my own while paddling my canoe and a manatee come up to me what then? I have been around many manatees and they love attention from humans, pet them, they love when you turn the hose on with fresh water, feeding them. Never tried to ride one, never really wanted to. Seems to me the person who was taking picture is a little narc.

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- tj1961
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:39am
  Alligators will NEVER interact with manatees, they can’t take salt water. The same logic applies you should NEVER feed wildlife like alligators or bears, they will come to depend on humans for food like some people.
  
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piper60
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 7:37am
Too bad they don’t have a similar law to keep the politicians in D.C. from molesting our freedoms.

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truthsurfer
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 7:23am
Give her 10 years for being a fugly whale

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truthsurfer
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 7:20am
She is ugly so she has to be a liberal. Give the cow 5 years of hard labor for being a ugly liberal.

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chips1
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 6:05am
It’s illegal to try and ride Debbie Wasserman Schults also, However, you must register as a sex offender.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:42am
  … and enter an “insanity” plea.
  
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Godzgrl247
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 6:04am
So, the moral of the story is, that the next time you have to travel, dress up as a Manatee and the TSA will not be allowed to bother you!

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- Godzgrl247
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 6:06am
  Sorry for the double post but the Blaze has so many darn pop up ads that my Internet Explorer shut down. I didn’t realize the first one “took”.
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:43am
  get rid of explorer and use Mozilla. it’s free, faster, and more user friendly.
  
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Godzgrl247
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 5:58am
So the lesson we can all learn from this is, the next time you have to travel, dress up like a Manatee and the TSA cannot bother you. LOL

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Hawk69
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:55am
He said it is manatee mating season. Maybe she was just trying to get her ***** bestiality freak on? Last I heard Obama and the left has made it legal for our solders to have gays sex, sodomy, and bestiality. If a USA solder can get his bestiality freak on then why can’t she? The Florida police are very sexiest it seems. Also many men have sex with women that look just like manatee’s and they don’t get prosecuted for it.

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gtr-rmn
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:26am
I think there is more important things for the DA’s office to do than go after a manatee rider. She turned herself in she did not know it was illegal. I have been in Florida over 30 years and did not know about it.You people want to help the manatees enforce the no wake zones.

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Talmid of Yeshua
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:20am
Ok… another example of a foreigner acting stupid and stating she didn’t know the law…

… but how do we know the manatee wasn’t riding the woman? She kinda looks like a sea-cow herself, and possibly large enough to support a manatee.

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ghost dad - active military
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 3:54am
That manatee was on the way to the polls….registered. No one should be able to obstruct that…..explains the hold up with the FL tally.

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PoliticallyRightUs.Com
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 3:29am
Yep just like Europe… Obama and Holder go free and murder and a woman goes to jail for trying to ride a sea animal.
anybody else see the problem here?

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LeadNotFollow
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 1:57am
.
The story below states that Ms. Gutierrez faces no charges.

Sea Cow Rider Will Not Face Charges After Turning Herself In
http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/sea-cow-rider-will-not-face-charges-after-turning-herself-in

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- spikebu
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 2:35am
  Still haven’t heard anything from the Manatee’s lawyer.
  
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- FFTyranny
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 2:57am
  I read that the Manatee will be meeting with Gloria Allred within the next few days.
  
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- FFTyranny
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 2:59am
  I’m confused, which one is the Manatee?
  
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- ICSPADES
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 6:49am
  Which one was the sea cow?
  
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- JokerWatcher
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 7:57am
  The manatee didn’t sound, it wasn’t all the upset. Probably was enjoying the interaction with a human, hadn’t had it in years because of a some fool state law.
  When I was a kid on New River in Ft Lauderdale we interacted with them all the time, swam with them, had to occassionly swat at them to keep them away from our little homemade boats, they’d surface right under us, flip us. They loved humans. Later as a diver in Crystal River I had to wave them off all the time, all they ever did was come over to find out what was going on, to play, nudge us.
  The one in this story probably just wanted to play.
  Evironmentalists are fools, pure fools. They know nothing of the natural behaviour of some mammals. They interrupt the natural just by living,..fools…
  
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- JokerWatcher
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:18am
  The manatee didn’t sound, it probably wasn’t all the bothered. Manatees love to interact with humans, it’s a natural tendency with them. When I was a kid playing in New River in Ft Lauderdale we interacted with them all the time. If we were in my little homemade boat they’d come over and surface right under us, flip us, unintentionally I believe, they just wanted attention. If I saw one coming I’d start swatting at him with a paddle to keep him at bay. They were naturally curious, playful, loved human beings. Later when I was a diver in Crystal River I was forever waving them off underwater. They’d follow us down come over nudge us, they were such a nuisance, just wanted to play.
  Know that environmentalists are natural fools, they know nothing of the proclivities and natural behavior of some mammals toward humans. Environmentalists could do both us and the mammals a real big favor by just ceasing to exist…
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:29am
  “unlawful for any person at any time, by any means, or in any manner intentionally or negligently to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to MOLEST, harass, or disturb any manatee.”
  
  i wish the government would get out of my bedroom already.
  
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- Twisted Mind
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:16am
  trying to breed
  
  Report this comment
- Parnell3rd
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:20am
  I concur with icspades
  
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