I hope that it just removed some of the natural algae that grows on their backs and there was no actual damage.
Fun fact - Manatees are kinda my pet “weird creature” I like. I learned about them in 3rd grade when we had to write to the various state governors, and they would send back packets of state information and Florida had stuff on manatees, as well as a feature in Weekly Reader. I thought they were so cool and I had never heard of them before.
Except IIRC, that layer acts as part of their integumentary immune system, helping the manatee avoid skin infections from all the pollution we spew into their habitat.
dogdammit man. these assholes just love to show us exactly what they are: assholes that know NO bottom to the depth of their depravity. Assholes all the way down
we need Jamal Galves, Manatee Man to set a muthafucka straight! the man is incredible.