TEENS HELPING SAVE MANATEES FROM EXTINCTION

One of the many animals on the federal list of endangered species is the manatee. This harmless mammal faces many everyday challenges to keep its kind alive. But with the help of many humans, manatees are making a comeback.

In 1981, singer Jimmy Buffett and former Florida Gov. Bob Graham started the Save the Manatee Club, a nonprofit group that funds awareness and educational programs, research and rehabilitation efforts, and legal action to protect manatees and their habitats.

Y-Press talked to two teens associated with Save the Manatee -- Brian Lynch, 19, of Orlando, Fla., and Megan Manary, 14, of St. Louis.

Both discovered manatees when they were much younger.

"I've known about them since elementary school -- a lot of the classes adopted manatees," said Brian, who has worked at the Save the Manatee Club office in Maitland, Fla. "When my sisters and I were younger, my parents would sometimes make it (a manatee adoption) a gift to us, like for birthdays."

Megan learned about manatees during a trip to Sea World.

"I thought they were quiet and nice. They seemed interesting. I've adopted one," she said. "They don't really hurt anybody. They just go about their business."

Despite being harmless, manatees have suffered at the hands of humans. Many are killed by motorboats or by swallowing or becoming entangled in debris, such as fishing line. Some are crushed by or trapped in flood-control structures, such as dams.

Manatees do die of natural causes. Some have been killed by red tide, which is caused by harmful algae in the ocean. Others die from cold stress, caused by sustained low temperatures.

Another problem endangering manatees is a low birth rate. A female reaches sexual maturity at 5 years old, a male at 9. Once mature, a female will give birth to one calf every two to five years.

The most preventable cause of manatee deaths is motorboat accidents, according to Nancy Sad usky, communications and outreach director at Save the Manatee. In 2001, 325 Florida manatees died, 81 from collisions with motorboats. So far this year, 83 manatees have been killed by boats.

Manatees are vulnerable to careless boaters because they are slow and favor shallow waters. "They're mammals, so they need to surface to breathe air, and frequently you're going to find manatees in waters that are about 7 to 10 feet deep because they're herbivores. They feed on aquatic plants, and aquatic plants generally grow in waters that are about 7 to 10 feet deep," Sadusky said.

"So even if they hear the boat coming, they usually don't have the depth to dive because they're in shallower waters, and also they don't have the speed to avoid a boat that's traveling like 40 to 50 miles an hour."

She pointed out that laws are in place to protect manatees. Boating speeds are restricted in many waterways in which manatees can be found. And in Florida, someone disturbing a manatee can be fined up to $1,000 or be sentenced to 60 days in prison.

However, these laws are not regularly enforced.

Brian and Megan agreed that more could be done to help the manatees. Brian suggested "better enforcement of the speed laws in rivers and other water masses where manatees are located."

Megan added, "I think there should be more natural places where they could go where boats wouldn't be allowed."

But the two also think that there is more to awareness than simply punishing wrongdoers.

"The more people are familiar with the problem, the more people will be cautious when they're doing things that could potentially be a risk factor for manatees," Brian said.

But what can a kid landlocked in Indiana do about a situation in Florida? Sadusky offers some insight: "I think it's very important for people just to become informed."

There is hope for the manatees. In 2001, Florida's annual aerial survey found 3,276 manatees, compared with 2,639 in 1996 and 1,200 in the 1970s.

"Manatees are not going extinct because of natural circumstances, like dinosaurs did; they are going extinct largely because of human-related practices. So the positive thing is that we can do something about it," Sadusky said.

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Save the Manatee

What's offered: Adopt-A-Manatee is one of the programs offered by the Florida-based Save the Manatee Club. The group cares for about 30 manatees in three locations: Blue Springs State Park, where about 20 stay during the winter; Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, where five are injured or recuperating and cannot be released into the wild; and Tampa Bay, where the Florida Marine Research Institute has monitored five manatees.

How to adopt: For as little as $20, people can adopt a manatee at one of those sites (one manatee can be adopted by many people). Almost all the money goes to rehabilitation, research and education. Manatee adopters get a picture of their animal, said Nancy Sadusky of Save the Manatee, along with a biography, including information from researchers who tracked the animal. There's also a membership handbook and a quarterly newsletter.

More information: To learn more about the club, check out their Web site at www.savethemanatee.org.