Are Manatees Out of Danger?

There's good news for manatees. For some time, manatees have been in danger of dying out. Now some scientists in Florida say the number of manatees has increased and the sea mammals should no longer be considered endangered.

What's a Manatee?

North American manatees, or sea cows, are ocean mammals that live in Florida's warm coastal and inland waters. They weigh up to 1,500 pounds and can grow to be over 12 feet long. Manatees probably live for 50 to 60 years. They keep in touch with their offspring for many years, teaching them where to eat and where to migrate when the weather turns cold.

Manatees are herbivores, or plant eaters. They eat between 32 and 108 pounds of plants each day. That means they have to spend most of their time looking for food.

Speedboats versus Manatees

Manatees are slow swimmers. In fact, they do everything slowly: moving, eating, and digesting. Being slow worked fine for manatees for millions of years, until manatees and humans met.

Since manatees were not afraid of people and were slow-moving, hunters killed them in large numbers and used their meat for food, their hides for leather, and their bones for medicines and other purposes. Only in the past 30 years have manatees gained real protection from human hunters.

But, unfortunately, high-speed boats are another major threat facing manatees. Manatees often do not hear boats coming, and when they do, they are not able to move away quickly enough. As a result, speedboats have often slammed into manatees, injuring or killing the sea creatures with their propellers.

People Are Helping

Some people in Florida are working hard to save the manatees. They have gotten laws passed that set speed limits on waterways where manatees live and that require signs to be posted, warning boaters when they are in a manatee area.

The laws seem to be working: the manatee population has grown to about 3,000. If the laws continue to be obeyed, the number of manatees should continue to increase.