Tell US Fish and Wildlife to Give Manatees Endangered Species Protections

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

More than 1,100 manatees died last year — most of them starving to death.¹

As their main food source — seagrass — disappears, scientists are finding manatees emaciated, too weak to swim or fend for themselves.²

2021 was bleak for manatees — about 1 in 10 died.³ And if we don’t step in, 2022 could be catastrophic.

That’s why we need you to call on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to give manatees endangered species protections. Add your name at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=49059.

Across Florida’s coastal waters, manatees used to spend their winter days eating seagrass and huddling together for warmth.

But pollution has killed about 90% of their seagrass, and it’s taking manatees down with it.⁴

Their populations are sinking, their huddles thinning. Across coastal waters, malnourished manatees with reduced buoyancy surface to breathe more than normal and appear off balance. You can even see their ribs through their skin.

Scientists at aquatic rehabilitation centers are trying to help these starved creatures — some weighing 600 pounds below their target weight, and other orphaned manatee calves with umbilical cords still attached.⁵

There is a lot we need to do to save this species. And we should start by giving our manatees critical protections under the Endangered Species Act.

Take part in a movement to save these gentle sea cows. Call for the relisting of manatees today.

We lost more than 10% of manatees in just a year, which means you and I don’t have any time to waste.

The Endangered Species Act has helped save species from humpback whales to bald eagles. Now, we need the act to work its magic for manatees.

These gentle sea cows need your voice to pull them back from the brink of starvation. Will you speak up?

Call on the FWS to relist manatees under the Endangered Species Act.

1. Li Cohen, “Record number of Florida manatees starved to death in 2021,” CBS News, January 7, 2022.
2. Amy Green, “Four Years Ago, Manatees Were Declared No Longer Endangered. Now They Are Dying At A Record Pace,” WUSF Public Media, September 14, 2021.
3. Amy Green, “Four Years Ago, Manatees Were Declared No Longer Endangered. Now They Are Dying At A Record Pace,” WUSF Public Media, September 14, 2021.
4. Catrin Einhorn, “Manatees, Facing a Crisis, Will Get a Bit of Help: Extra Feeding,” The New York Times, December 7, 2021.
5. Amy Green, “Four Years Ago, Manatees Were Declared No Longer Endangered. Now They Are Dying At A Record Pace,” WUSF Public Media, September 14, 2021.