Man, Oh Manatee
It's a good time to be a manatee!
Manatee Population
In Miami, Florida manatees are frequently seen. Two years ago 828 manatees were counted, dead. This year there is an even larger number for the amount of manatees living. This is just in Florida."Scientists pay close attention to whether the manatee population is growing or shrinking." Scientists have been taking surveys to count the amount of manatees in Florida. There are already 6063 in Florida on it's own which is an amazing achievement.
Taking the Manatee Census
Florida has decided to start statewide surveys every year of the manatee population. There is a group, The Wildlife Conservation Commission, created to try and protect animals from dying off. For scientists to accurately count manatees they have to go all over the state in just a few days to make sure that they do not count one manatee twice. A group of 20 people went to the east and west sides of Florida and on the east they counted 3,333 and on the west 2,730. Scientists and people in general were amazed at the amount of manatees counted. According to newsela, ' “Counting this many manatees is wonderful news,” said Richard Corbett. He is also part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “The high count this year shows that our long-term conservation efforts are working.” '
Richard corbett
Richard Corbett the scientists who helped the manatees to have a harm free life.
Manatees
Amazing creatures roaming through nature and living a harm free life.
Patrick Rose
Another person who helped the manatees.
Manatees Do Not Live by Numbers Alone
Though The results for manatees is positive some conservationists are still concerned. The results are positive, but that does not mean that the manatee is still safe. Different people will all have their own opinion on it which will lead up to people interpreting the results incorrectly. Many people will come to the conclusion that since there are so many manatees that they do not need to be protected anymore. Patrick Rose says there is still much work to keep the manatees safe.
Endangered Species Ruling Ahead
People believe that the laws about harming manatees and manatee laws in general should become less strict. 2 groups of people asked if manatees could be removed off of the endangered list and moved to the threatened species list. This seems like a small change but it has its bad parts to it. The reason is because the rules differ for threatened species. The manatee is one of 78 original species to be listed under endangered species.
Boats and Pollution Take Their Toll
One of the main reasons for deaths of manatees is by human activity. 41% of manatee deaths has come from human activity. over a third of the population was killed by boats. They have also been killed by pollution in the water. There are still many reasons on why manatees are being killed. Due to pollution some areas where manatees live become unlivable and there are still many places with boat traffic. The process of helping manatees has gotten harder and harder according to Mr. Patrick Rose.
Information
For more information on this topic, manatees, go to the link below. The link is also the source of this flyer!
Website: https://newsela.com/articles/manatee-florida/id/8075/