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Reflections: Wow! My enclosure is much bigger than I imagined |
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by Pamela E. Derr, LMHC |
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Manatees released in Florida |
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I used to think of winter as a time to be cooped up, but living in Florida has changed that. This past February I enjoyed camping at Blue Springs State Park in Orange City, FL, where the manatees winter in freedom from the cold. Blue Spring is a first magnitude spring that produces over 100 million gallons of water per day from the Floridian aquifer into the St. Johns River and is the winter home to a large population of manatees. Since manatees require temperature over 60 degrees to survive, they come to the springs to winter in water that is a constant 72 degrees year round. For a manatee, that is as free as it can get in the winter, where their usual haunts in rivers and the surrounding ocean is much colder. |
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Each year, manatees are hurt by boats, get injured from eating fishhooks or litter, or get entangled in crap traps or fishing line. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWC) co-ordinates the rescue of these animals. The FFWC works with a network of agencies and volunteer organizations to place these animals in rehabilitation facilities. SeaWorld Orlando is one of only three facilities authorized for critical care and rehabilitation of injured or sick manatees or orphaned calves. At the rehabilitation facilities, manatees are examined, diagnosed, and treated in special rooms. Once treated, they are placed in appropriate holding pools and enclosures that meet their needs. |
Manatee launch site |
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When a manatee is ready to be released, it is equipped with tracking gear and its health and re-adaptation to the wild is monitored by the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP), a cooperative effort of nonprofit, private, state, and federal entities. |
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During my camping visit, a park ranger told me that on the following Tuesday morning two Sea World manatees were going to be released from captivity into the wild at Blue Springs. Since I have never experienced the release of a manatee, I re-arranged my schedule to stay and watch and learn. I arrived at a perfect viewing spot in the park by 8 that morning, armed with my camera and cup of coffee. Gradually, a small crowd of people gathered. We were told to expect the trucks transporting the manatees from Sea World by around 10 AM. The rangers did warn us that there were many factors that could influence that arrival time, such as difficulty with the manatees, the trucks, traffic, accidents and the like. But it was a good day for all those factors and the truck and van showed up at a little before 10 AM. There was excitement everywhere, the spectators, the handlers, and even the two manatees being readied for their first taste of freedom. I tried to divide my time between getting photos of the event and actually watching it. I have found that I feel like I “miss” the event by being absorbed in taking photos. |
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Little Jackie ready for launch |
The manatees about to be released to freedom were Little Jackie, a mere 800 pounds, who was rescued a few years ago, and Webster, who was born in captivity in 1991 and now weighed over 1,600 pounds. It was a bit tense watching the handlers move the manatees on stretchers out of the truck, down the stairs, and over to the bottom of the little canoe ramp. The manatees had already been fitted with radios in collars so the biologists could keep track of them once they were released, so they were good to go. The handlers walked the stretcher into the spring water until the manatees were able to move out on their own, A cheer, then and applause when Little Jackie entered the water. Tension was higher when Webster made the same trip because of how much heavier he was. But then a bigger cheer and applause as Webster made his trip successfully and was released without a problem. |
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By 10:40, the excitement of the release was dissipating. I stood at my vantage point trying to locate the Little Jackie and Webster. I was surprised to see them remaining close to the area where they had been released. I thought surely once they got over the shock of the ride on the stretcher they would bolt to the mouth of the spring or to the St. Johns River. Then it dawned on me – they didn’t realize they were no longer in a limited enclosure. They did not know their release provided them with seemingly endless opportunities to roam. I laughed. It reminded me of all the time I have fought against the “cage” that I have created in my life with my own mind, only to realize at some point that most of these boundaries were only a creation of my beliefs about my limitations. I could take a mere recommendation about how to manage my life and turn it into a prison. And it was all in my mind! |
Little Jackie released
Jackie's and Webster's new herd |
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The clearest example of this was my resistance to starting my own counseling practice years ago. I had convinced myself that the only way I could afford to have an income and essential benefits such as health insurance was if I worked for a large organization that provided these things for me. I could not see around this obstacle I created for myself. I was capable of getting health insurance on my own; I was just convinced that I could not pay for it. Did I question this belief? Not until I struggled with it for quite a while. Then I made an interesting observation. Working for an organization that covered my insurance did not provide me with enough money to pay for insurance and take care of my other needs. That was exactly why the companies offered health insurance as a benefit. I was always an overachiever ― I would also work much harder than the position required or even demanded. I failed to realize that it did not matter if I just met expectations for my position or exceeded them ― my salary would remain the same. But if I worked for myself, the harder and more I worked, the more clients I could see. I could actually make more money. I was not trapped by the ceiling of a salary with benefits. So it was possible to work for myself and provide myself with an income as well as health insurance. What a concept! To some people, this may seem like an obvious point. To me, it was not. I seriously considered not starting my practice over this one concern because I believed there was only one way to live my life in this regard. I had taken a suggestion, reinforced it, and created what seemed like an inescapable cage with my beliefs. A cage that was in my mind. Unlike the manatees, no one kept me locked in my cage but myself. No one can let me out of these cages but myself. The good news is that although I don’t know how or why, I manage at times to see the illusion that I have created. The more aware I am of my habit of creating these illusions, the better chance I have of not getting trapped in them very long, maybe someday, not at all. At least that’s the goal. This day not only was I provided with a wonderful opportunity to witness how humans are trying to help the natural world but a gentle reminder to keep my eyes open for the prisons I may create for myself. I went back to check on Little Jackie and Webster. They had moved up the river a bit, trying out their new freedom and were beginning to bond with their new herd. |
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© 2011 by Pamela E. Derr, LMHC |
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