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Manatee a.k.a Sea Cow // (Trichechus Manatus) //  Listing: ** Endangered **

 **Range and status:  They inhabit warm waters of the western Atlantic from Florida to Brazil. They also live in coastal waters, freshwater inlets, and river mouths. Florida waters have become winter refugees since Florida has water springs, but there is now warm water coming from power plants being poured into the water endangering the manatees health. Manatees live in small isolated populations, they used to live spread out but during the 18th and 19th centuries they were hunted extensively and coastal development have now made their population further be reduced. There are less than 2,000 manatees left in the United States today.  Causes of Endangerment:  ** **-Over Exploitation; **  There are no known predators other than humans. Humans would hunt manatees for their meat, fat, and tough hides. In some parts of the Caribbean and South America manatees are still hunted for food.  **-Power Boat Collisions; **  Powerboats are becoming the greatest hazard for manatees. Since manatees are slow near surface swimmers, they are easily exposed to the power boats as they move through the water. The number of collisions is increasing at alarming rate.  **<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; text-align: left;">-Coastal Development; ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; text-align: left;"> Residential and commercial development has been increasing rivers and waterways. Habitat destruction has damaged the estuarine sea grass communities on which the manatees feed off of. In addition to that, chemical pollution has impaired the immune system of the manatees and have become more vulnerable to infection. Manatees have been experiencing an epidemic since the beginning on 1996. More than 250 manatees have been found dead in Southwest Florida. <span style="color: rgb(242, 38, 211);">. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**<span style="color: rgb(255, 198, 0);">Conservation Actions: **
 * -Protected Areas;** Florida was declared a manatee sanctuary in the 1700s and hunting manatees was prohibited.


 * -Research;** One current study being done is tracking manatees by satellite to learn more about where they go and what they do.


 * -Citizen Involvement;** There is a [|Save The Manatee Club] which was co-founded by the singer Jimmy Buffett. Citizens are also involved in the death tracking of manatees in Florida.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">//<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;">**-The Florida Manatee Recovery Plan** // was developed as a result of the Endangered Species Act. The recovery plan is coordinated by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service and sets forth a list of tasks geared toward recovering manatees from their current endangered status. Save the Manatee Club is part of the Manatee Recovery Team, which carries out the tasks in the plan under the USFWS. In addition, SMC is part of the Manatee Technical Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to government officials on manatee protection issues. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(128, 0, 0);">

[|Manatee Endangerment Timeline] [|Additional Photos of Manatees]