Posted on 10/13/2005 7:21:49 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW ORLEANS - The manatees that grazed in Lake Pontchartrain before Hurricane Katrina haven't been seen since, but eight dolphins were leaping in the lake this week.
"If the big critters are back, the lake is definitely coming back," Carlton Dufrechou, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, said Thursday.
Flocks of pelicans and the pod of dolphins spotted Monday indicate that there are fish for them to eat, he said.
Earlier in the week, the journal Environmental Science & Technology reported that tests had found the dirty floodwaters pumped out of the city may be a long-term hazard to wildlife in the lake.
"We knew Pontchartrain would heal itself," but the rate at which it seems to be doing so is a welcome surprise, Dufrechou said.
Dufrechou said the last reported manatee sighting was about a week before the hurricane, but he added that there haven't been any sightings of dead manatees, either.
"I would suggest that means nature took care of itself — they knew something big was up and got out of Dodge," Dufrechou said.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans aquarium, which lost the majority of its collection during Katrina, brought back a 300-pound sea turtle named King Midas.
About 10,000 animals died after four days without support systems at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
The survivors, including a 19-member penguin colony, two sea otters and several hundred freshwater fish, were evacuated to other aquariums. But King Midas was brought back from Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, as the New Orleans aquarium began the process of repopulating its tanks.
"It's really a sign of hope and rebuilding. It was a big rallying point for our staff. They've gone through so much, losing animals they worked with for 20-plus years," aquarium spokeswoman Melissa Lee said.
King Midas, a 300-pound green sea turtle, swims in his watery home with other fish at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, La., Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005. King Midas was taken to a temporary home at Moody Gardens Aquarium in Galveston, Tex., after he was evacuated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and returned today. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Mercury Morris, Larry Csonka, Garo Yephremiam.....who were the other six?
Would any of these be the "killer dolphins" that got loose?
Some sad news, but also some good news as well. I just hope the manatees recover.
So much for the irreparable "toxic soup" theory.
Maybe its those missing killer dolphins. If I were a dolphin, I'd make sure I was locked and loaded before I went to NOLA.
Dialup strikes again :(
They call him Flipper, Flipper, Flipper...faster than lightening.
Or am I seeing things?
Exactly. The constant "sky is falling" drone of the ecoidiots is really nauseating. Hurricanes have hit the coast for eons--of course it healed. That's what it does.
Ricky Williams hasn't been seen for a while. And Larry Czonka can't swim.
Jim Kiick, Bob Griese, Paul Warfield
Mercury Morris, Larry Csonka, Garo Yephremiam.....who were the other six?
Bob Griese & Paul Warfield. ;-)
The big dolphin with the shellac hair claimed to be Shula. Pretty sure Earl Morral was there too (I'm pretty sure he was the QB....my brain ain't what it used to be)
I like them blackened!
Tuna supplements.
I'm going out on a limb here. I would think most of the crap pumped back into the lake will take the form of residual oil, and the various end products that came out of vehicle exhausts that buried into the road bed surface. Plus obviously things like raw sewage which are biodegradable, and will be consumed by various type bacteria forms living in the lake. As for the offshore fisheries as some are aware, reports are coming in that the fishing industry may not have suffered to badly. The gulf is a huge body of water. And though thousands of towns close to the coast where wiped out, it does not mean huge amounts of pollutants ended up in the near shore fishery zones. And most of the refinery complexes may not have leaked a drop of bad stuff into the gulf. So perhaps the fishing and shrimp industries shall once again be a reality in our gulf states.
Just giving you a chance wise guy. :)
OK
Larry Little , Earl Morrell, Jake Scott, Larry Seiple, Nick Buonoconi (sp)
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