Facebook Photos Lead to Florida Man's Arrest — Think Twice Before You Try to Ride a Manatee and Before You Share Pictures

Do either of these tidbits surprise you — first, that a Florida man was arrested based on photos he posted on Facebook, or that it's illegal to injure, harm, harass, capture or attempt to capture a Florida manatee? 

If convicted of said crimes against a manatee, Ryan William Waterman, 21, of Ft. Pierce, Fla., is facing a $500 fine and a maximum of 60 days in jail. The Huffington Post reports Waterman shared photos of himself and two kids petting, lifting and sitting on a manatee calf on the social media site.

The arrest came after the Florida Fish and Wildlife was tipped off to the incriminating photos.

Did you know there's a list of animals and plants that are protected in Georgia? It is illegal to harass, capture, kill or otherwise directly cause the death of any protected animal species, except as specifically authorized by law or regulation adopted by the Board of Natural Resources, and it is unlawful to cut, dig, pull up or otherwise remove any protected plant species from public land without an appropriate permit from the Department of Natural Resources. Click here to view the list of protected species. 

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