Manatees are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Manatees like to eat seagrass, algae, and other plants located in freshwater. They live along the Atlantic coast of North America from Massachusetts to Texas. They often move north in the summer. But in the winter manatees are usually found in areas like Florida because they require warm temperatures to survive.

Today’s manatees are starving to death. About 1,000 of the region’s manatees have died in the past few years. That's close to one-sixth of the entire manatee population in the Southeastern U.S and Puerto Rico. The Indian River in Florida is one place where manatees are dying due to starvation and pollution.

Plastic pollution also affects manatees. Plastic bags and bottles that end up in the water harm sea animals like the manatees. They can choke and die from eating it.

Officials in Brevard County, Florida have come up with a plan to try to help the manatees. They began to feed them romaine lettuce to help with keeping the manatees hydrated and prevent them from getting any bad bacteria in their bodies. Some people are in disagreement and do not believe that the manatees should be fed because it encourages them to linger in places where there is no food and they will likely die.

Some manatees aren't able to move to find food and shelter because of how weak they are due to starvation. Scientists have taken manatees to various rehabilitation centers to try and save their lives before it's too late.

Other efforts are being made to help save manatees, such as scientists replanting seagrass and suspending the use of herbicides in order to allow manatees to eat floating vegetation and try to keep them alive. There’s also legislation that has been filed in order to push government officials to address the extinction of the manatees. Manatees are going extinct and we need to find a way to keep them healthy and alive.

[Sources: Orlando Sentinel ; Associated Press ]

This is one of the many reasons we all need to recycle! I hope the efforts to help the manatees continue! – Camila , Wright Middle School (2022-01-26 14:15)

This was really interesting to read! Keep up the great work Dayanara! – Alan , West High School (2022-01-26 14:16)

This is so interesting, thanks so much for putting this information out here for me to read! Keep up all your good work! – Theodore , Wright Middle School (2022-01-26 14:34)

We are very impressed by your writing. This is really good work. – James Kramer , UW-Madison (2022-01-27 08:39)