Save the Manatee


	Writing \| Math Save the Manatee by Evamarie Spataro Quick Support Sign Up

	Manatees are large, gray aquatic mammals that have a flat, paddle-shaped tail. They have two flippers, with three to four nails on each end. Their head and face are wrinkled deeply with whiskers on the snout. The elephant and the hyrax are their closet land-dwelling relatives. Manatees thrive in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals and coastal areas. They are a migratory species and move where the water is warm. In the winter, they are pretty much centralized in Florida. Manatees are placid, gentle, and slow-moving creature. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and in travel. Manatees are completely herbivorous and do not eat any meat. They are so gentle because they do not have any natural enemies. Manatees are extremely affectionate with one another as well. They actually "kiss" each other in greeting, a nuzzle snout to snout, and they even embrace each other with their flippers. Why are Manatees important? Manatees are important to their ecosystems because they eat vegetation that grows in estuaries. An estuary is a mostly enclosed body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, and mixes with the salty sea water. Estuaries commonly provide excellent harbors, and most of the large ports in the United States (New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Mobile, Galveston, Seattle, and San Francisco) are located in estuaries. Estuaries are also home to many species of waterfowl, and other creatures. Manatees chew their way through vegetation to balance overgrowth. Manatees are teetering on the edge of extinction due to reckless boat-driving humans. People need to be more aware of how their behavior is killing manatees. Conservation of manatees is needed, and most of their deaths are caused by man-made slip-ups. Most human-related manatee moralities occur from collisions with watercrafts. The manatees lie still in the water for hours at a time. Boats ride right over them and the blades of the propeller slash them. Manatees are also being crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood control structures. Fishhooks are being left around in the water carelessly for manatees to ingest, as is litter and monofilament line. Manatees also find themselves entangled in crab trap lines. Their habitats are being subject to vandalism and destruction. They are getting squeezed out of their homes by humans and their acts. They need to be saved because they are now on the brink of extinction. Protection of the manatee The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 protect West Indian manatees in the United States under federal law. This makes it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. They are being protected by The Florida Manatee Recovery Plan. This plan has kicked off the development of site-specific boat speed zones for manatee protection, new management plans, posting of regulatory speed signs, levying fines for excessive speed in designated areas, public acquisition of critical habitat, creation of sanctuaries, manatee research, and education and public awareness programs. This is a great start, but manatees' numbers are dwindling. The population has thought to be at a measly 2,000 and 3,000 animals. What you can do to help the manatee! There is much work to be done and it can be helped with you. You can contact your local U.S. senators and representative and/or Florida's governor and tell him/her that you are passionate about saving the manatees. You can even adopt a manatee to sponsor! Savethemanatee.org suggests that activists should: "call, write, fax, or e-mail policy makers, and let them know how important manatees are to you. Ask them to support protection for manatees and their habitat and to keep other environmental laws strong. It doesn't matter whether you live in Florida or outside the state. Any type of letter or call helps!" This link is wonderful and it includes everything you need to know about getting involved in saving this wonderful, yet endangered, species: http://www.savethemanatee.org/whatyou.htm If you have manatee-related interesting information, stories, or want to help in any way with their conservation, drop me a line by clicking here. Useful Links: Florida Marine Research Institute http://floridamarine.org/ The Florida Marine Research Institute (or FMRI), works to protect all marine life. They are involved in protecting manatees as well in Florida. They have helped set up sanctuaries for them over the years. Save the Manatee Club http://www.savethemanatee.org The Save the Manatee Club is an organization to preserve Manatees. They are active in the law-making of Florida in creating regulations for boats. The careless drivers of the boats are driving over the manatees and killing them. Sunflowers by Evamarie Spataro I love taking pictures. Recently I started taking pictures with a digital camera. I can take as many pictures as I want and don't have to worry about film. What I really like about my camera is that you can store the pictures on regular floppy disks. My dad had a lot of extra disks he doesn't use anymore, so I can take as many pictures as I want. I took some pictures in the garden of the sunflowers in my garden. Also, you can learn how to make a sunflower seed necklace, too! The Secret World of the Basset Hound by Evamarie Spataro Now you are ready to step into the secret world of the Basset. The Basset Hound was bred in France at around the 1500’s. The reason they are called "Basset" is derived from the French word "bas set ", which means low-set. 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