Thirty years after starting the Save the Manatees Club in Florida with former Senator and Governor Bob Graham, Jimmy Buffett has reversed his position on manatees:

The Gulf Coast’s favorite son Jimmy Buffett may be a favorite no more after he announced Thursday that he no longer believes in the plight of the Florida manatee.

“The Florida manatee population is at record levels,” Buffett said in a phone interview from his home on St. Bart’s. “They are no longer endangered, and in fact they are becoming so numerous that they are now a nuisance to Florida boaters and fishermen.”

The “Margaritaville” crooner is an avid boater and angler and spends a considerable of time in Florida waters.

Tom Manning of the US Fish and Wildlife Service disputes Buffett’s claims. “While it’s true that the West Indian Manatee is no longer classified as endangered, it’s still considered threatened. That means that the species is still considered very vulnerable to endangerment.”

Buffett’s partner in forming the club back in 1981, Senator Bob Graham, is shocked by the sudden change in Buffett’s position on manatees:

“Jimmy and I have worked together for thirty years on this,” former Senator Bob Graham said. “I am shocked and saddened that he would abandon our work and the work of many others just as the manatee population begins to recover. Maybe he hit his head a little harder than he thought down in Australia.”

Update – Yes this was indeed an April Fools joke 🙂 . Jimmy is just as committed as ever to saving the manatees. Learn how you can help at savethemanatee.org

Jimmy Buffett was spotted in L.A. Monday with his arm in a sling after returning to the states from Australia.

Take a look at the photo below and provide your own caption for it:

(photo NPG.com)

Post your caption in the comments section of this post.

After a few days we’ll pick a few of our favorites and put them in a poll for you to vote on the winner.

Dr. Gordian Fulde, who was in the first row at the Sydney concert on Australia Day, writes for the Daily Telegraph describing how he helped Jimmy after his fall and how serious it was:

You just knew it was bad. Watching it, it was like in slow motion because the show was all over, everybody was signing out mentally and physically.

Jimmy fell so horribly and I saw the angle and what he hit. I thought he might have had spinal injuries.

The reflexes kicked in and I went over to the fence and told security who I was, even though I didn’t look like a doctor dressed in shorts, a tank top and sandals.

This all happened in seconds. I jumped the fence and got to him the moment after he landed.

No matter how many patients you have seen it is still a shock when you have this crumpled human being, blood pouring out, they are white as a sheet, they are totally limp and you just don’t know what is wrong with them, what injuries they have.

The difficulty I had was it was a very small space and I didn’t want to straighten him out in case he had neck or spinal injuries.

Jimmy was crumpled up so he couldn’t breath properly, but he had a strong heart beat.

Behind me, I couldn’t really hear the crowd.

I heard a gasp of despair because anyone who saw it knew it had to be bad.

He was bleeding profusely from a very bad cut to his scalp. After a while, he started to wake up but was dazed.

As we wheeled him into the back of the ambulance he wanted to wave to fans.

I joined him in the ambulance to St Vincent’s Hospital and by the time he got there he began to recall the incident and was talking.

Continue reading Dr. Fulde’s column here.

A bandaged-up Jimmy Buffett just posted a video message to fans on his website.

In it he thanks the fans for their outpouring of support and vows to be back to Australia and New Zealand soon.

Some of the Coral Reefer Band have posted messages to their social networking sites on what has transpired over the past day.

Nadirah Shakoor:

Thank you everyone for your kind words and concern for JB I will pass them on to him. We are all still a bit shaken but you know JB he’s already writing a song about it. 🙂

Peter Mayer:

Thanks for your best wishes, prayers and comments. While we’re sad to cancel the show in Auckland, it’s the best thing. Jimmy is resting up. He was very fortunate to not have had worse injuries from his fall. He’s tough, he bounces and he’ll be back soon. PM