© Steve Vaughn/Panoramic Images (Florida Title Image Large)
Save the Manatee Club
Save the Manatee Club’s mission is to protect endangered manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations. The Club was founded in 1981 by former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham and singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett.
Save the Manatee Club is a membership-based, national nonprofit organization. Funds from their Adopt-A-Manatee program go toward public awareness and education projects, manatee research, rescue and rehabilitation efforts, and advocacy and legal action to ensure better protection for manatees and their habitat. For more information, visit the Save the Manatee Club web site.
Manatee Facts
- The average adult manatee is about three meters (9.8 feet) long and weighs between 362 – 544 kilograms (800 – 1,200 pounds).
- West Indian manatees are found throughout the Caribbean basin and within the southeastern United States.
- Manatees are herbivores and can consume 10 – 15% of their body weight in vegetation daily.
- Most adult manatees living in the wild bear scars from at least one watercraft collision. In fact, manatee scars are so common, researchers use them as a method of individual identification.
More About The Florida Manatee
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© Wes C. Skiles (Climate Change and Manatees Featured Image)
Climate Change and Manatees
by Defenders of Wildlife
Researchers suggest that the increasing likelihood of larger and more frequent hurricanes from global warming raises the odds against manatees' survival. -
© David Moynahan (West Indian Manatee Featured Image)
West Indian Manatee
The West Indian Manatee is a large, gray, nearly hairless, walrus-like aquatic mammal. Adults may reach more than 10 feet in length and weigh more than 1200 lbs. Manatees are found in Florida's coastal waters, bays, rivers, and (occasionally) lakes where they feed on aquatic plants. During cold weather, they require warm-water refuges such as springs.
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