For Immediate Release: April 9, 2009

Manatee manners really do matter to Save the Manatee Club and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  The two recently teamed up to create a new public awareness sign to teach Florida’s residents and visitors of all ages how to behave responsibly when manatees are near, and to help safeguard the endangered marine mammals from harm.    

‘You can look, but please don’t touch, chase, give water, or feed us,’ states the message on the sign, right above wide-eyed and innocent “Buddy” the manatee, created and illustrated by Florida artist and author Tim Thomas, who donated the use of his popular and endearing “Buddy” character for the sign project from his children’s books.  “It is an honor and privilege to have Buddy Manatee help promote the efforts to protect the manatee,” says Thomas.

The 2-foot by 3-foot full-color sign will be ready to deliver its manatee message to visitors at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens second annual Earth Day – Party for the Planet! event on April 25th & 26th.  Save the Manatee Club will present a special unveiling of the sign on Sunday, April 26th at noon.  Tim Thomas will also be autographing his Buddy Manatee children’s book from noon until 4:00 p.m. that day, with part of the proceeds benefiting Save the Manatee Club and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Delfi Messinger, Director of Animal Programs at the Zoo, says they are pleased to partner with Save the Manatee Club on the sign project.  “It’s vital that we enlighten our many visitors about manatee harassment and what they can do to avoid being a part of the growing problem,” she explains.

Patrick Rose, the Club’s Executive Director, said, “These signs are especially targeted to children, our citizens of tomorrow, so they understand that their behavior has a direct impact on the manatee’s survival.  We want to teach people at a young age that they can protect manatees by making the right choices – by practicing passive observation.”

The signs will be distributed to state, municipal, and county parks; marinas; and other sites where human/manatee interaction can be a problem, resulting in manatee harassment.

For more information on the signs, contact jnearing@savethemanatee.org or newm@jacksonvillezoo.org. 

###

Get more Manatee Information

Return to the Manatee News page