a poor region of the tropical Mexican state of Tabasco a woman sits in the shade by a river cradling her granddaughter a Greek sorceress who turned her enemies into animals “I saw the name in a novel and I liked it,” explains Sirse’s mother The trend towards greater variety in names is a global one This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Tabascan onomastics” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents Just as in the United States, working-class and immigrant voters swung right The Conservatives suffered one of the most astonishing falls from popularity in political history An interview with Evo Morales in his tropical highland stronghold MAGA bombast has upended Canada’s political universe and given Mark Carney’s Liberals an edge Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau’s toxic legacy have pushed Canadians to the centre The lifeless body of a West Indian manatee by Suman Naishadham (Reuters) – In the swampy wetlands of southern Mexico officials and researchers are struggling to explain the deaths of dozens of manatees the chubby marine mammals once confused with mermaids by ancient mariners Fishermen who navigate the muddy waters inland from the coast of Tabasco state have discovered since May at least 28 dead West Indian manatees Locals report deaths of fish in the river and blame polluted water in an area that is near onshore and offshore drilling projects operated by national oil company Pemex The company says tests show no contamination in the area Other scientists wonder if the deaths of the placid animals which divide their time between the ocean and inland rivers are related to wider changes in the climate and rising sea levels “Whenever you see a die-off like this of a long-lived animal it can be a canary in a coal mine,” said David Gonzalez-Socoloske a tropical mammal ecologist at Andrews University a small private college located in Berrien Springs it tells you that something is going on with the environment,” he said 92 manatees have died since January within an area where the growth of microscopic algae has caused a harmful “red tide,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission cannot grow in Tabasco’s fresh water where manatees have been perishing said Ricardo Aguilar of Mexican wildlife advocacy group AZCARM “The only relation is that the animals dying are manatees,” Aguilar said Desperate to prevent more deaths while they investigate the cause wildlife authorities in Mexico have vowed to capture and transfer about 30 of the gentle herbivores to a nearby nature reserve which can weigh up to 1,100 pounds (500 kg) a marine specialist at the Autonomous University of Tabasco and the rescue mission’s lead scientist Olivera-Gomez said scientists use sonar to locate the animal a group of some 20 people on wooden boats surround and trap it with large fishing nets the scientists have caught just two adults and a calf are believed to live in Tabasco’s waterways The International Union for Conservation of Nature Past efforts in Mexico to save threatened marine mammals have seen mixed results a pint-sized porpoise that swims in the Gulf of California two of the critically endangered animals were placed in a breeding program The manatee deaths highlight threats to the Gulf’s lowland wetlands which have historically been defined by seasonal rains and dry spells that scientists say will grow more extreme as global sea levels rise can make animals like manatees less resilient to disease-causing pathogens the birthplace of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have not shown any spills from oil activity Mexico’s water authority CONAGUA collected samples from the Bitzal lagoon and said the water did not contain high enough levels of oil metals or pesticides to explain the deaths the leader of the fishing cooperative in Macuspana said oil contamination has killed numerous fish and made the water undrinkable “The government doesn’t tell us anything,” he said “We aren’t catching anything because the river is so contaminated,” he said on the grassy edge of a shallow waterway where he and friends found 12 dead manatees Reporting by Suman Naishadham; editing by David Alire Garcia and Cynthia Osterman Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox shipping agency struck a deal on Friday on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector which will impose an emissions fee on ships that breach it and reward vessels burning cleaner fuels In a dramatic development at the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in London the Trump administration has announced the United States’ withdrawal from crucial maritime decarbonization.. 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