Put a Manatee in Your Easter Basket

For further information, contact:

Contact: Nancy Sadusky Communications & Outreach Director Phone: (407) 539-0990 E-mail: nsadusky@savethemanatee.org

Note: A slide or a high resolution jpeg (300 dpi) of a manatee image is available upon request

Searching for a new way to delight your children on Easter morning? A manatee adoption from Save the Manatee Club (SMC) is an Easter gift that will last long after the chocolate eggs and jelly beans have disappeared. Adopting a manatee is a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to learn about this fascinating, endangered species and help ensure its survival. Proceeds from Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program go toward conservation programs to protect manatees and their habitat.

A manatee adoption is a responsible alternative to acquiring a live animal such as a bunny or a chick. “Parents” of adopted manatees receive an adoption certificate, a photo of their manatee, the manatee's biography, and a membership handbook with educational information about manatees. In addition, a coloring and activity book for young children can also be included in the adoption packet upon request. Members receive updates on their adopted manatee four times a year in the Save the Manatee Club Newsletter. As children eagerly follow the activities of “their” manatee, they learn a great deal about the life cycle of a manatee and about manatee conservation efforts.

Although they average 10 feet in length and weigh between 800 to 1,200 pounds, manatees are gentle animals. They are slow-moving aquatic mammals that travel the rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays and coastal areas of the southeastern United States. Manatees are a migrating species and are concentrated primarily in Florida in the winter, but they can sometimes be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Virginia in the summer.

Nineteen manatees that winter at Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, FL, have been chosen as adoptees for one of Save the Manatee Club's three Adopt-A-Manatee programs. Blue Spring's natural spring maintains a constant temperature of 72 degrees and is an attractive winter refuge. Ranger Wayne Hartley, who writes updates for the SMC Newsletter, watches over each of the manatees in the program. Three of the manatees in the Blue Spring program include Whiskers, Dana, and Howie.

Another SMC adoption program is at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, in Homosassa, FL. Five female manatees that cannot be released into the wild (because of old injuries, for example) currently call the park their home, and Ranger Betsy Dearth reports on their activities. The Homosassa manatees include Betsy, Amanda, Ariel, Rosie and Lorelei. In addition, five manatees frequently seen in the Tampa Bay area and along the west coast of Florida are also part of the Adopt-A-Manatee program. They include Elsie, Flicker, Ginger, Jemp, and Vector, and their movements are tracked by manatee researchers from the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg, FL.

About 3,000 manatees remain in the United States, and they are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Many manatee mortalities are human-related. Because they are slow moving and need to surface to breathe air, manatees are often vulnerable to boat hits. Other causes of human-related manatee mortalities include the accidental ingestion of discarded fishing line, hooks, plastic six-pack holders and other debris left floating in waterways. Entanglement in crab trap lines and monofilament line also cause manatee injury or death. In addition, manatees can be crushed in floodgate and canal lock structures. Moreover, loss of habitat is a serious threat facing manatees today.

Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program helps to fund education and public awareness endeavors; manatee research, rescue and rehabilitation projects; and advocacy and legal efforts to help protect manatees and their habitat. SMC is a nonprofit organization established in 1981 by U.S. Senator Bob Graham and singer Jimmy Buffett.

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Get more information about the Adopt-A-Manatee program

Manatee Information for Students

There is lots of information for students of all ages who are interested in learning about manatees at the “Manatee Info” section of the web site. Students can also request a free “student education packet” by sending their name, address and grade level via e-mail to education@savethemanatee.org.

Free Materials for Educators

In addition, educators can receive Manatees: An Educator’s Guide, a free 36-page guide accompanied by a four-color poster, and a coloring and activity book, Manatees: Florida’s Gentle Giants, by sending a request on school letterhead and a self-addressed 9” x 12” envelope with $1.95 in postage on it.