The Florida manatee is one of the state's most beloved and iconic creatures - as well as one of its most peaceful, docile, and loving ones. For years, the Florida manatee was federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and considered Endangered. In 2017, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) chose to downgrade the manatee's status from endangered to threatened. This decision was based on supposed improvements to the manatee's habitats which showed favorable outcomes for their species' development. However, many experts argued that the decision did not meet the Endangered Species Act's criteria and that the manatee is still in great danger and facing steady population decline.

The numbers have only gotten worse. In 2021 alone, over 900 Florida manatees died, a jaw-dropping 10% of their estimated population. 37 of them were rescued from the Florida waters and transported to the SeaWorld rehabilitation center, including 12 orphaned babies, among them one named only "No. 37", who was emaciated and starving - a stark contrast to the chubby, well-fed image of manatees we know and love.

Manatees are facing serious threats to their survival. Although being classed under Threatened did not change the manatee's federal protections, the notion that their population is improving and in good condition changes the public image of them and causes people to ignore or never hear about their true conditions.

One of the biggest issues is starvation; algae blooms have been wiping out the seagrass manatees eat and resulting in starvation. Between December 2020 and May 2021, 677 dead manatees were reported on the East Coast; most of them had died during January, February, and March, Florida's coldest months, and they were a whopping 40% underweight. This year, activists resorted to feeding wild manatee populations 25 tons of lettuce as a substitute for their natural diet of seagrass, in an attempt to stave off starvation.

Another threat, one that significantly ties into the threat of starvation, is a lack of proper habitat; manatees rely on warm water, especially during the winter, to survive, reproduce, and eat. The Ocklawaha River, the heart of the Great Florida Riverway, played a large role in providing the warm water currents needed for natural manatee habitats; however, it is occupied by a dam that has significantly limited this. As a result, manatees have learned to rely on warm water found near industrial power plants to survive during the winter. Restoring the Ocklawaha river would provide manatees with a great source of sustainable warm water. Several manatee habitats have also been deemed too dangerous for the species to live in, resulting in mass relocations.

Relisting the Florida manatee as endangered is only the first step in helping their suffering populations. Call on Governor DeSantis, Senator Rick Scott, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reinstate the Florida manatee as endangered and work on long-term solutions such as restoring the Great Florida Riverway to save this kind and beloved species.

Visit savethemanatee.org for information and more ways to help.