Manatees

Manatees are large gentle aquatic mammals that inhabit slow moving rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. They can be found in fresh, brackish, and salt water. Manatees in the United States are migratory but like most tourists, prefer to spend their winters in Florida. The West Indian Manatee is the species usually found in Florida. They are herbivores and consume 10-15% of their body weight in plants daily. As mammals, they must come to the surface to breathe; usually every 30 seconds while exerting and can remain submerged up to 20 minutes while at rest.

Manatees are endangered and are protected by Federal and State laws. Anyone harassing or intentionally harming a manatee can receive fines and imprisonment. There are only 4,480 manatees remaining in the United States as of January 2011. Common causes of death are cold stress, pneumonia, boat propellers, and fishing hooks and line.

Save the Manatee Club requests that you:

“Call 1-888-404-FWCC (3922), #FWC or*FWC on your cellular phone, or use VHF Channel 16 on your marine radio if you see an injured, dead, tagged, or orphaned manatee, or if you see a manatee being harassed.”