The Tampa Bay Times recently reported on an issue that took me by surprise.
It seems it’s a “thing” to paint Florida wildlife, particularly tortoises and turtles. Most likely, the culprits simply think they’re making the world a little more decorative, but according to officials, painting these little guys is harmful to them – and it’s illegal.
Many Floridians are probably used to hearing “don’t touch the wildlife” — but what about “don’t paint the animals?” This article explains why you shouldn’t.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is making a public plea for whoever has been painting the shells of gopher tortoises and turtles around the state to put their paint brushes down.
That’s because wildlife officials have recently discovered a few reptiles painted in bright colors.
“Tortoises and turtles don’t need touch-ups!” the FWC wrote on Facebook a few weeks ago.
The painted animal situation has grown even more dire in recent days: officials recently discovered a white ibis sporting an unnatural bright-orange hue in Palm Beach County.
“First turtles, now birds!” the FWC wrote on Facebook on Saturday. “Please keep your paint on the canvas and off of wildlife.
“White ibis are protected in Florida. Not only is it illegal to paint them, but it is cruel to paint any wildlife.”
The paint can be toxic to these animals. In the case of turtles, painting their shells can expose the reptiles to toxins and affect their ability to absorb vitamins from the sun.
Historically, people painting turtles has been a minor issue. But the FWC said there has been an uptick in reports of such incidents.
So the agency decided to reach out to the public via Facebook and social media. As they tend to do, online commenters quickly revealed a likely source of the problem: ignorance. Some admitted that they had painted turtles at a young age, unaware of the threat it posted to the reptiles’ wellbeing.
“It’s been more and more in the last year or so,” said the FWC’s gopher tortoise coordinator, Deborah Burr. “Some have only a portions of the shell painted …
Burr said it’s hard to say if more people are actually painting the shells or if people are just reporting it more thanks to the smartphone and social media generation, and the FWC’s own gopher tortoise app, which can be used to map where the reptiles live across the state.
It takes a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to remove paint from a tortoise shell, according to the FWC. It could take several washes to get the paint off; rescuers break up the time it takes to clean up the reptiles so they don’t become too traumatized during the process.
The toxic chemicals in paint can get into the reptiles’ bloodstream and cause respiratory problems and other issues, according to the FWC.
“Most people don’t realize the shells are so porous,” Burr said. “They think it’s like a seashell at the beach … but it’s a hard surface on an animal and it will absorb anything that’s put on top of it.”
Both the gopher tortoise and the ibis are protected animals. The white ibis is protected by federal and state law; gopher tortoises are protected by state law.
George Heinrich, a St. Petersburg ecologist and environmental educator, said the only time one should touch a gopher tortoise is to help it cross a road in the direction it was already heading.
If you do spot a painted animal during your visit to Bamboo Beach Club Resort, you are urged to call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888) 404-3922 or to send a text to Tip@MyFWC.com.
Have you ever seen this phenomena? Tell us about your experience.
Read the source article at Tampa Bay, Florida news
The post Don’t Paint the Animals! appeared first on Blog Bamboo Beach Club Resort.