What do manatees feel like?

Since manatees are endangered, we are not to feed, touch, harass, give water to, get in their way, or in any way interfere with the manatees. Reports from earlier times mentioned that manatees felt different depending on where they were touched: The skin is silky-smooth in spots underneath, and often more rough on top.

Where manatees have a few inches of fat (not large amounts like mammals that live in cold ocean waters) they feel a little like a full balloon. Their flippers have bones much like our hands, and can be seen and felt beneath the surface of the skin. Their tails are solid-feeling and strong to work hard pushing the manatee through the water.

This photograph shows a researcher with a manatee. The manatee swam to the researcher first.

Do manatees really touch people?

Some manatees, just like some of us, are curious and will swim up to a person who is floating quietly on the surface of the water. They use their flippers for many things--holding food, pushing off of the bottom of the river to rise to the surface to breathe, touching their manatee friends, and picking up or investigating things. Sometimes they do touch people they feel they can trust.

Why are manatees endangered?

If people weren't around, manatees would probably not be endangered. They are vegetarians, and their food grows in shallow water. That usually means close to shore. What water areas do people use most? Close to shore. That creates a collision course. Boats can crush manatees caught under them in shallow water. Propellers can cut through them as they come to the surface to breathe. We poison the water to kill unwanted water plants. We leave fishing traps and lines underwater, where curious manatees can get tangled or caught. Flood gates sometimes crush manatees when they close, and have been known to separate a cow from her calf.

In this photograph the pontoon boat is anchored, so it is not a danger to the manatee.

However, you can see how easy it would be for a moving boat to hit a manatee as he comes to the surface to breathe.

What can you think of that would help manatees live healthy lives?

What laws protect manatees?

Manatees in Florida have been protected for a long time. In the 18th century, England created the State as a manatee sanctuary.
This photograph shows boats anchored outside a sanctuary in the Crystal River in Florida. The sanctuary is marked off with ropes and buoys. Swimmers cannot enter the sanctuary, but can wait outside to see if a manatee will swim out to them.

Current laws in force:
1) the Florida legislators passed the "Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act" in July of 1978. The whole state is a refuge and sanctuary for manatees and boat speeds are regulated in manatee areas. The Florida Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission enforce this law.

2)On a national level, manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972

3)Endangered Species Act of 1973. The latter prohibits harassment, harm, pursuit, hunting, wounding, shooting, killing, capture, collection of, or the importing or exporting of endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces this legislation with state agencies. The USFWS also establishes manatee sanctuaries and refuges.