For Immediate Release

Now, here’s a fresh new look at Easter gifts, which does not include rabbits or Easter plants, as you might otherwise think. Whiskers and Lily are two real, wild manatees up for adoption in Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program at Blue Spring State Park, Florida. A manatee adoption is a delightful gift to receive, and it’s also a socially responsible gift to give. It’s helping an endangered species survive.

For $25, the Club will send a Manatee Easter Buddy package to whomever you wish. This includes an adoption certificate, a photo of the manatee you choose, a biography, and a membership handbook loaded with information and pictures. A one-year subscription to the Manatee Zone, the Club’s quarterly newsletter, is also part of the package. Or for $35, each new member who adopts a manatee will also receive a cute plush manatee, while supplies last.

“Many people have told us they prefer to give gifts that carry real meaning,” said Judith Vallee, Save the Manatee Club’s Executive Director. “That’s why manatee adoptions make such popular gifts at Easter and other special occasions throughout the year. There are concerned individuals across the nation and around the world who really care about what happens to the gentle, curious manatees who live dangerous existences in Florida’s busy waterways.”

Save the Manatee Club features adoption programs at Blue Spring State Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and Tampa Bay, with a total of 30 manatees to choose from. Easter Buddies, Whiskers and Lily, from the Blue Spring adoption program are both very popular manatees who enjoy spending time in the warmer waters of the spring during the cooler winter months.

Whiskers, an adventurous and playful male, seems to have a real zest for life. As a youngster, he was a real handful for his mom. He loved to play with the other young manatees in the spring, and his mother, Dana, would often have quite the time trying to get him to leave when she was ready to head out into the St. Johns River. Whiskers fun ways have continued into his adulthood, and you can still see him forging up the spring run with much enthusiasm.

Lily is a sociable female manatee, who is often seen in the company of her many calves and grand calves. She has, from time to time, acted as a surrogate mother for other manatee babies. Female manatees will often nurse the calves of other mothers in addition to their own. Lily is often spotted playing and relaxing with Save the Manatee Club adoptees such as Philip, Phyllis, Lucille, and Floyd.

There are only about 3,000 manatees left in Florida waters. These harmless, aquatic vegetarians face numerous human-related threats from collisions with boats, ingestion of fish hooks and entanglement in crab trap and monofilament fishing line. In addition, increasing human population growth has resulted in destruction of their habitat. Back in 1981, singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett and former Florida governor Bob Graham founded Save the Manatee Club, a nonprofit organization dedicated to manatee conservation. Funds from Save the Manatee Club adoptions and donations go toward numerous conservation and education programs to protect endangered manatees and the ecosystems they inhabit.

To adopt an Easter Buddy for someone dear to you, contact Save the Manatee Club at 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751, call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646) or click on the links below.

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Adopt-A-Manatee!

Get more Easter gift ideas at the Manatee Gift Items section

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