For Future Generations: Please Keep Your Distance from Manatee Mating Herds

When a female manatee goes into estrus, she is soon detected and pursued by numerous male manatees. For the duration of this cycle (approximately three weeks), the female can mate with one or more males in what is known as an estrous or mating herd. While manatees mate throughout the year, mating herds are most commonly seen during the summer months.

In shallower waters, the effect can be quite dramatic with churning waters and flailing flukes and flippers. The activity can attract onlookers who are either curious about the commotion or concerned that the manatees in the estrous herd are injured, stranded, or in distress. In fact, this is natural behavior and as with all encounters with wild manatees, it is important to only observe from a respectful distance. Any disturbances to the mating herd may disrupt this natural behavior and jeopardize the reproductive cycle. In addition, adult manatees are large, powerful creatures and interfering with a mating herd is inherently dangerous.

A close-up of a mating herd. The female manatee is easily identified in the middle, surrounded by males.

If you encounter a manatee mating herd:

Do not approach or touch any of the manatees
Watch only from a respectful distance
Know that interfering with the mating herd is considered manatee harassment, and is against the law
If you witness others touching or otherwise disturbing the mating herd, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or your local wildlife agency or stranding network

Mind Your Manatee Manners: Tips
More On Manatee Reproduction

For Further Reading

A manatee mating herd is seen from above. The herd is in shallow water at land's edge and several individual manatees can be seen in the agitated water. — A mating herd as seen from above. The activity agitates the surrounding waters and can be quite dramatic.

Sarasota Police warn people to leave mating manatees alone. ABC Action News. August 08, 2022
“Sarasota Police said it’s fine to observe the mating manatees, but officers said some people have been going into the water near them and trying to touch the manatees which is not only dangerous, but it’s illegal.”
Florida officials ask people to stop messing with mating manatees. Orlando Weekly. August 09, 2022.
Manatees on the move, seen mating across Florida during the warmer summer months. Ft. Myers News-Press. July 01, 2022.
“Sometimes people surround the group and there’s nowhere for them to escape. It’s a unique thing to see, something that you don’t get a chance to see all that often. But enjoy it from a distance. Don’t get close enough to touch or interact with them, and if people are contacting them we encourage them to call FWC.” —Andy Garrett, a manatee biologist and head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s manatee rescue program.
‘Very dangerous situation’: Watch mating manatees in Florida, but stay back, FWC says. Miami Herald. April 09, 2022.
“If you encounter a herd, it’s important to watch from a distance as these large, strong animals are focused on mating. Bystanders that get too close could be seriously injured.”