Manatees love fresh water. This one slurped freshwater runoff from a bayside park for 10 minutes, giving us a rare chance to study that extraordinary snout. Those are no ordinary nose hairs. They have superpowers – manatee’s whiskers are extremely sensitive. Each single whisker can detect textures with twice the dexterity of an experienced Braille reader. Other small hairs on manatees bodies act as tiny antennas that detect information about water currents, landscape and the presence of other animals
At the end of the video, note the slashes in this manatee’s thick skin, likely caused by boat strikes, a common cause of manatee mortality.
Tragically, more than 1,500 manatees died in just 15 months, from January 2021 to March 2022, mostly from starvation. Florida’s waters are so polluted with fertilizer runoff, sewage, gypsum and other toxins that the seagrasses that manatees depend upon for survival are disappearing.
Even a desperate attempt by the Fish and Wildlife Service to feed manatees lettuce in the wild has not yet reduced the mortality rate. Florida must get its pollution under control, or lose its State Marine Mammal the gentle manatee.
Fantastic! She looks so gentle. It makes it All the worse what humans are doing to her. We are so hard on earths creatures – thank you for posting this. I’m going to contact Florida’s entire legislature right now.
Thank you. Activism is real. Contacting legislators is the way to get things changed. Sometimes slow and frustrating but they do listen despite all evidence to the contrary sometimes.
Good ‘freaking video. Post it on YouTube so you can get an attention on this project
We need to all contact the legislatures inFlorida. It’s the only way to save this species. What a shameful legacy Florida’s current power players will leave if they wipe out their own State Marine Mammal.
Yes, that is exactly right! Calling or even emailing legislators’ offices – even if you talk to an aide – makes you a big vote in a small pool. They keep a running total of who calls about what and where they stand on the issue.
Why can’t the enviros do something about this. Money is pouring in to these organizations. I just looked at the annual reports of Center for Bio Diversity, Environmental Defense and other orgs involved per the links in your report. I am horrified at the enormous budgets in comparison to actual victories. WTF?
Hello Gary – Thank you for your question. While budgets for environmental organizations have certainly improved in recent years, they are small compared to the budgets of developers, extractors, polluters, industrial agriculture and their lobbies which gives them a significant edge with legislators. And, having mentioned just a few of the bad actors here, you can see that there is literally a world of environmental challenges to be addressed by. The best I can suggest is to volunteer for one of the organizations you mentioned. I think you will be impressed with how dedicated the staff – and particularly volunteers – are and just how daunting the challenges are and, yet, how much they accomplish with relatively limited resources. Volunteers are vital. Jump in!
Thank you so much for calling attention to this tragedy. The FL legislators have lost their way. Great info about who to thank and who to slap – the carrot and the stick! I’ve called both legislators offices. Their staff responded and actually seemed to listen?!
I just watched this video and read your newsletter about the manatees with some friends. We are all incensed and will all be calling the legislators you suggested. We’re going to on speaker phone together for courage!
Hi Aubrey and Friends – What a great idea to get on a speaker phone together for a call to your legislators. That will make an impact! It can seem intimidating to call a legislator’s office – rather than email – but I bet you had a good experience. I’ve found legislators of all types to be responsive, courteous and even grateful for calls from the public.
Hi – Gary here again. I’ve started volunteering for Environmental Defense as you suggested. Though I’m mostly reading and summarizing documents so far, it’s Very satisfying! Looking at Center for Bio Diversity, too, but just not sure I can live with giving my time to an org with such an enormous budget.
I understand. You are on the right track – volunteer for an organization that feels right for you. Thanks to you and all environmental volunteers everywhere!