Save The Manatees

With a face only its mother could love, a body able to discourage any predators just because of its large size and the knack for gaining popularity even as its population decreases, the Florida manatee has become an icon of Florida wildlife.

In January 2000, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) counted only a little more than 2,200 manatees surviving. In 1999, the all-time high death toll was 268, and within the first three months of this year, 100 had already died. The Florida manatee is on the brink of extinction.

Florida has passed many laws to protect manatees - beginning in 1893. Since 1907, a $500 fine has been imposed on anyone who harms or kills a manatee. The manatee itself was listed as an endangered species in 1967, and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) treaty in 1973. The State of Florida was designated a refuge and sanctuary of manatees by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act in 1978, yet many years later, the manatee still faces the risk of being wiped off the face of the earth. A good look at the manatee's characteristics, behavior and habitat reveals why.

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostrus) is a subspecies of the West Indian Manatee - part of the sirenian order of mammals that includes manatees and dugongs around the world. Closely related to the elephant, the manatee is Florida%u2019s state marine mammal. "Gentle giants," as they are called, manatees are herbivorous, feasting daily on vegetation up to as much as 15% of their body weight, which includes very little fat. Averaging 10 feet long and 1,000 lbs., an adult manatee spends 6 to 8 hours eating, and the rest of the day resting or traveling.

Manatees are grayish brown in color, oftentimes influenced by the growth of algae on their thick and wrinkled skin. Their bodies resemble the seal's, and their whiskered snouts look like the walrus' without tusks. Forelimb flippers act like arms that allow them to maneuver, to "walk" in shallow water and to bring food to their flexible, grasping lips, while a powerful, flat tail propels their massive bodies across the water.

Able to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes while resting, manatees have huge lungs that exchange 98% of their contents in one breath. Their nostrils, located on top of their faces for easy breathing, have tight-fitting flaps that keep the water out when they're submerged. Gushes of strong exhalation at the water surface reveal the manatees' presence.

Manatees move slowly, and they are also slow to reproduce. Females mature in 5 to 9 years and give birth to one calf every 2 to 5 years. Young manatees nurse underwater, on teats under the mother's flippers. They alongside the mother for about 2 years, learning travel routes and survival skills.

Manatees thrive in warm water. At temperatures below 68 degrees F, manatees stop eating, suffer cold stress and oftentimes die. This is why they migrate to the coastal areas, rivers, canals and estuaries in Florida and southern Georgia during winter. They especially prefer the slow-moving rivers and shallow coves and bays where there are warm springs and lush sea grass beds.

Manatees also converge around power plant outfalls and warm-water discharges. During winter, hundreds of manatees congregate close to Florida Power and Light Company's power plants at Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Riviera Beach and Fort Myers, as well as the Tampa Electric Company's Apollo Beach power plant in Tampa Bay.

Manatees travel through freshwater, brackish and saltwater environments, reaching as far west as Louisiana and as far north as Maryland during summer. But in Florida, the favorite manatee migration destination seems to be Crystal River. And at Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, tourists come from all over the world to see the aquatic mammals. Manatees, however, find their way into any shallow river, estuary, cove or canal where feeding grounds can be found.

How does all this contribute to the manatee's risk of extinction?

Natural causes that lead to the dwindling of the manatee population include diseases, red tide, predation from natural enemies and susceptibility to cold stress. Add to that the primary threat to all endangered species: the encroachment and destruction of natural habitat. In the manatee's case, this is development along seagrass beds, mangroves and salt marshes.

To complicate the manatees' situation even further, endangerment threats include harassment by humans, estimated as responsible for 43% of all manatee deaths. Fishing lines or nets carelessly thrown into the water get tangled in the manatees' fins or tails, causing gashes that easily get infected. Speeding boats collide with slow-moving manatees surfacing for air, oftentimes killing manatees on impact. Boat propellers inflict fatal lacerations on the backs and tails of manatees swimming near the surface, unable to submerge fast enough to escape the blades.

Tossing fishing lines, feeding and harassing manatees, and boating in manatee-protected areas are subject to fines and/or imprisonment. Nevertheless, the Florida manatee death toll continues to rise at an alarming rate.

Deeply concerned over the glaring number of manatee deaths, the Save the Manatee Club (SMC), together with 18 other environmental and animal protection groups, filed 2 federal lawsuits against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and FWC. The environmental groups are charging these agencies for failure to protect Florida%u2019s endangered manatee population.

At the same time, SMC urged Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida State Legislature to allocate funds for the implementation of comprehensive protection programs and on-water law enforcement, in the light of the marine industry%u2019s growing demand for motorboat access to manatee habitats. Awareness of the impending demise of the manatee has triggered several courses of action among various FWC departments. In April, FWC%u2019s Bureau of Protected Species Management formed a team to oversee strict law enforcement in areas where watercraft-caused deaths are historically high. The Bureau also began to disseminate manatee preservation information, encouraging voluntary compliance from boaters and fishermen. In May, the Division of Law Enforcement mobilized the Wildlife Reserve - volunteer officers to assist in manatee sanctuary law enforcement. Additionally, the Office of Informational Services called simultaneous press conferences in Brevard, Dade, Broward, Lee and Collier counties to stress the urgency of the manatee situation.

In terms of manatee rescue and rehabilitation, programs sponsored by many marine zoological parks in Florida primarily engage in returning healthy manatees to their natural habitat. But most of them also maintain controlled environments where the public can learn more about the manatees, and where special studies can be conducted.

Sea World has been a major force in the conservation of manatees. The park is authorized to rescue and rehabilitate these endangered mammals. With its staff of professional biologists and veterinarians, Sea World has been successful in treating and rehabilitating ill and badly injured manatees.

It may seem that with the combined efforts of all of these law enforcers and rescue organizations, the survival of the manatee is ensured. But the truth is that the future of the manatee rests in the cooperation these agencies get from the public. Only with the help of responsible tourists, residents, fishermen and boaters will the coming generations have the chance to appreciate these gentle giants of the waterways.

Florida Nature Spots

Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park - From Wildwood, near the convergence of the Florida Turnpike and I-75, take Highway 44 west to 490 (West Homosassa Trail) southwest to Highway 19, then south to the park; call 352-628-5343

Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge - One entrance is south of Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park on Highway 19; call 352-563-2088

Fun 2 Dive - with Captain Joseph Detrick; call 888-588-DIVE

Bird%u2019s Underwater Manatee Tours and Dive Center - As with Homosassa Springs, head west on Highway 44 to Crystal River; call 352-563-2763

See this issue%u2019s article on endangered species for details on more places to view manatees.