A woman sought by Pinellas sheriff's deputies for riding a manatee at Fort DeSoto Park during the weekend has turned herself in.
Deputies say Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 52, admitted to the offense, telling deputies she is new to the area and did not realize it was against the law to touch or harass manatees.
According to deputies, Gutierrez violated the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, which states "It is 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."
The violation is a second degree misdemeanor.
A photographer happened to see the incident and caught the images on his camera.
"Well, you're thinking yeah these could be useful to someone. It was astonishing that she was actually doing it. I couldn't believe that someone would be doing that," said Steve Leach.
Officials said they do not believe any manatees were injured when the woman was touching and climbing on the animals in the waters just north of the Gulf Pier on Sunday, just after 1 p.m.
"She was like chasing them and jumping on them and sitting on them and holding them under. And they are flapping and trying to get away from this woman," said Lynn Parrish, who called park rangers to report the incident. "Everybody was screaming at her to stop. You know, if she would have just left well enough alone then I wouldn't have called."
The Sheriff's Office was contacted a short time later.
"I think it's serious," said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. "I think it's egregious when somebody would for their own pleasure abuse an animal. Manatees aren't meant to be ridden."
The woman was gone by the time deputies arrived but witnesses were able to give a description of the woman, which included photographs of her in the water with the manatees.
Sheriff Gualtieri said they get quite a few calls about this sort of thing but chose to get this story out because they actually have photos. Most of the time they get calls like this one there is no evidence. Authorities also wanted this to serve as a reminder to leave the manatees alone.
Deputies explained to Gutierrez that charges would be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office for prosecution. Due to the nature of the crime deputies say this was not an arrestable offense because it did not occur in the deputy's presence.
Look, but don’t touch the manatees
According to the FWC, if manatees become accustomed to being around people, they can alter their behavior in the wild, perhaps causing them to lose their natural fear of boats and humans, which may make them more susceptible to harm. Passive observation is the best way to interact with manatees and all wildlife.