THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607190057
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: 73 lines
IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN an Olympic swimmer doing an underwater ballet with a 2,000-pound manatee, this weekend looks like your best shot.
And you could win a trip to the Indian Ocean for a bit of whale watching. The ballet appears as part of the Outdoor Life Network's ``Crosscurrents'' program, to be shown at the Virginia Marine Science Museum's Owl Creek Marsh Pavilion at 8 and 9 tonight.
Presented by Cox Cable - which offers the Outdoor Life channel - there'll be no charge for the viewing at the pavilion's Interactive Theater. And theatergoers can register for a chance to win an exotic nature trip to a remote corner of the world.
The ``Crosscurrents'' show is about manatees, sturgeon and leatherback turtles. Co-host John McLachlan-Karr, an Australian marine biologist and outdoorsman, will introduce the show and make a brief talk.
Manatees, sometimes called ``sea cows,'' are becoming better known here because a few of them seem to migrate through Hampton Roads each summer. And one was even hooked, accidentally, by a local fisherman.
One of the messages ``Crosscurrents'' sends in the program is that eco-tourism is big business, whether it is expeditions to view leatherback turtles in Costa Rica or boatloads of snorklers in Florida hoping to interact with manatees.
``Tourism is the largest business in the world,'' McLachlan-Karr noted. ``And eco-tourism is the fastest growing part of that business.''
``The danger,'' he said by phone from his Florida home, is that eco-tourism can't be left to normal economic forces. There have to be regulations, and organizations like Earth Watch, a conservation group, which can play important roles, he said.
He noted that there are no regulations in some of the developing countries hoping to attract tourists to see creatures of the forest or sea. Europeans and Americans want hotels and comforts when they arrive at their destinations.
``In the process you destroy the environment people travel great distances to see,'' he said. ``It's a bit of a paradox.''
McLachlan-Karr said he particularly enjoyed doing the segment about manatees in Florida - where the interests of eco-tourists and the manatees are balanced. He noted that although it is possible to swim where manatees congregate in Florida, federal and state officials have set aside water areas where snorklers and swimmers cannot go so the mammals can have privacy and quiet when they like.
``Manatees come with so many personalities,'' he said. ``Some are shy and retiring. Others are bold and playful, a lot like people.''
``Crosscurrents'' co-host Diana Nyad once set a world record by swimming 102 miles nonstop in the open sea. During the program, she does less exhausting work in her underwater ballet with the huge manatee.
``It was fun working with the manatees,'' McLachlan-Karr said. ``As I was leaving the water I felt something on my leg. It was the flipper of a manatee who had followed me. It was as though he were saying `Let's be pals.' ''
``Crosscurrents'' will be filming in Chesapeake Bay, soon. Next year the show will do a segment on the horseshoe crabs in the bay.
``Horseshoe crabs inhabited the Earth about 400 million years ago,'' McLachlan-Karr noted. ``Amazing they are still with us, since so many species of that type which dominated the seas back then are no longer.''
If you haven't tuned in to Channel 58, it's worth a look. The Outdoor Life Network - which first appeared on Cox Cable about a year ago - is designed for viewers whose interests include outdoor recreation, adventure and the environment.
Folks who can't make it to the museum tonight, can watch the ``Crosscurrents'' show on manatees, leatherbacks, and sturgeon tomorrow at 8 a.m., 10 p.m., or 1 a.m. MEMO: The Virginia Marine Science Museum is at 717 General Booth Blvd.
in Virginia Beach. Call 425-3474 for more information. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
"Crosscurrents" programs explore aquatic animals and their struggles
for survival. by CNB