For Immediate Release: November 22, 2004

Note: A high resolution (300 dpi) jpeg photo of a manatee is available upon request.

Whiskers, one of the manatees in Save the Manatee Club's Adopt-A-Manatee program. He winters at Blue State Park in Orange City, Florida. (Photo © Save the Manatee Club)

When it comes to holiday gift giving, sometimes it’s the BIG things that count. Adopting an endangered manatee from Save the Manatee Club is a huge way to spark pleasure and appreciation among family and friends. Weighing between 800 and 1,200 pounds and averaging 10 feet in length, these slow-moving aquatic mammals have captured the hearts of people from around the country.

A very special 13-year-old named Katie Kubacki made headline news in her home town of Geneva, New York last holiday season, when she requested that her only present be a gift to help save Florida’s manatees, as only about 3,000 remain in America today. Katie felt it was easy to choose between getting a bunch of gifts or saving lives. Not only did she adopt Flash from Save the Manatee Club’s adoption program at Blue Spring State Park, her gift included enough money to adopt all of the manatees in the Blue Spring program. “I couldn’t stand the thought that these beautiful animals could disappear forever,” she said. “I wanted to do something to help them. Great big, sweet faced, sad eyed, gentle innocent lives are counting on us." Parents, relatives, and friends all answered Katie’s appeal. Even New York Senator Michael Nozzolio gave Katie $25 to adopt a manatee when he presented her with the New York State Liberty award for her outstanding work on behalf of manatees.

Manatees face numerous threats from humans. For example, since record keeping began in 1974, over 1,200 manatees have been killed by boats and many living manatees bear scars from their encounters with boat propellers.

For Melissa McMaster, an elementary school teacher in Naples, Florida, it was important to get her students interested in the world around them. The manatee adoption will be used as part of her classroom behavior program as well as a way to show her students how they can help others in need. Melissa recently adopted the manatee Brutus for her class. “I also want the students to raise their own money to adopt a manatee,” she said. “If they are able to accomplish that on their own, it will bring them a great sense of pride.” Being a teacher is more than just teaching basics, explains Melissa. She chose the manatee to be the “spokes-man” for her goal. “What a great holiday gift an adoption would be for a teacher to give to students, no matter what part of the country you live in, ” Melissa said. “It would show the children what the holidays really mean – a great lesson of selflessness.”

And then there is Rhonda Overton, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. A volunteer for Save the Manatee Club, Rhonda adopted her first manatee in June 1999, after encountering a mother and her calf while out boating along the St. Johns waterway. “After seeing the multiple scars associated with the many encounters this mother had survived from boat hits, it sparked something inside my heart,” said Rhonda. "We share the rivers with manatees every weekend and love it! I try to help the boaters, and people in general understand just how defenseless these special creatures are and how much they truly depend on the human race to help protect their futures."

Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program costs $25 for an annual membership, which includes an adoption certificate, a photo and biography of a manatee, a newsletter subscription and a personalized holiday gift card. Each new member who joins the Adopt-A-Manatee program online at $35 or more before December 31, 2004 will receive a free 24” x 12” full-color 2005 calendar with beautiful manatee photos. Gift givers can choose from 29 manatees at three adoption programs in Florida including Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa, and in the Tampa Bay area.

The Adopt-A-Manatee program is the primary source of funding for Save the Manatee Club, a nonprofit organization established in 1981 by U.S. Senator Bob Graham and singer Jimmy Buffett. Funds from the Adopt-A-Manatee program go toward education and public awareness programs, manatee research and rescue, and advocacy efforts to help protect manatees and their habitat.

Get more information on manatees

Get more information on the Adopt-A-Manatee program

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