Manatee Awareness Month 

By Camryn Hetrick 

The month of November was declared Manatee Awareness month by former Florida Governor Bob Gramham. This was first declared back in 1979 when the state began designating manatee protection zones in areas where the manatees gathered during winter. Manatees were placed on the endangered species list in 1967 and were upgraded to the threat list status in 2017. Due to recent manatee mortality, there has been a push to get these mammals back on the endangered species list. This information was found on savethemanatee.org and floridamuseaum.ufl.edu.                                                                                                                             Manatee’s play an important role in keeping aquatic ecosystems healthy. They are known as sea cows due to their important role in maintaining aquatic vegetation growth. These creatures eat up to 100 pounds of food per day. They also help distribute seeds and nutrients throughout the water. All this information was found on friendsofthemanateelagoon.org.  

  A great way to celebrate Manatee awareness month is by bringing awareness. Whether you talk about it to a friend or family member, learn something new about the cause, or fund an organization working towards their preservation. Raising awareness is necessary to save this species. 

When interviewing Megan McIntyre a student at Armstrong Jr- Sr Highschool, said “Manatees seem very important even though I have never seen one before. Every animal does something for the ecosystem and if they were to die off it would disrupt the ecosystem.” She proceeded to ask some very great questions. Megan asked, “If they were taken off the endangered list wouldn’t that mean they aren’t endangered anymore?” It’s a great question because considering it’s off the endangered list it should mean it’s safe, but that’s not the case with Manatee. 619 manatees were killed just in the year 2020 and plenty more since. Even though they are off the list doesn’t necessarily mean they are safe, it just means people aren’t as aware of them. When interviewing Emily Hollis from Apollo-Ridge High school she said, “I love a good squishy sea potato, so save the manatees.” 

The existence of manatee lays in the human population’s hands, so bring awareness and support to protect these creatures. They are important just like every other living thing and without them could cause a lot of problems for our aquatic life.