Dave Bautista offers $20K reward to find person who wrote 'TRUMP' on Florida manatee
HOMOSASSA, Fla. - 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star Dave Bautista is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who scraped the word 'TRUMP' on a Florida manatee.
The Tampa-native, who plays Drax in the popular Marvel films, tweeted the offer earlier this week.
"If there’s not already a reward for the arrest and conviction of the low life scummy MAGATs that did this I’ll throw in $20,000. And I promise there will be bonuses to that reward!"
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is leading the investigation after the animal was spotted swimming in Homosassa Springs over the weekend. The Center for Biological Diversity announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of the person responsible.
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Photo courtesy Hailey Warrington.
Video shared by boat captain Hailey Warrington showed "TRUMP" had been dug into the layer of algae and grime on the manatee’s back.
While the manatee’s skin was exposed, it did not appear wounded. Still, Warrington said the already skittish animal was even more wary than normal.
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"It’s heartbreaking that this manatee was subjected to this vile, criminal act," said Jaclyn Lopez, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, which is offering a $5,000 reward. "It’s clear that whoever harmed this defenseless, gentle giant is capable of doing grave violence and needs to be apprehended immediately."
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