Manatee Awareness Month

Be kind to a manatee in November

November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida. It comes at a time when the manatee's future is imperiled. Nearly a third of the manatee population in the state has died in the past two winters, most due to starvation. Conservationists are working to restore the manatee to the “endangered” species list after it was downgraded to “threatened” a few years back.

In 2000 the manatee population in Florida was reported to be over 6,000. Then disaster struck when their main food source, seagrass, disappeared from the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County. An estimated 2,000 manatees died of starvation over the past two winters.

Photo courtesy Phil Stasik

Florida Fish and Wildlife established feeding stations at a power plant in the lagoon where the manatees sheltered in warm water in the winter months. Tons of Romaine lettuce were fed to the manatees to replace their natural seagrass diet.

Manatees can be seen at many locations around the state. The most popular spots are at Florida State Parks, including Blue Spring State Park, Manatee Springs State Park, and Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. You can even swim with the manatees at Three Sister’s Springs in Crystal River. In the colder winter months, they are often seen gathered together in shallow inlets of the Indian River Lagoon.

Keep in mind it is illegal for people to make contact with the manatees, but they will often approach swimmers on their own.

The manatee is Florida’s official marine mammal and even has its own license plate. For more about manatees visit the Save The Manatee Club website.