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Hi John,
Mother manatees devote most of their energy to feeding and protecting their calves.
But the massive die-off of Florida manatees has left calves orphaned. Starvation and polluted water are pushing these sea creatures to the brink.
Please help with an urgent gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. All donations will be matched.
Last year was the deadliest on record for manatees.
More than half of the record 1,100 deaths of Florida manatees in 2021 were in prime, year-round habitat in the Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic Coast.
And already this year, hundreds more have died — in an ecocide that shows no signs of letting up.
Nutrient pollution is poisoning the Indian River Lagoon, creating toxic algal blooms and throwing the ecosystem out of whack.
It's gotten so bad that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken to feeding the manatees romaine lettuce. But that stopgap measure isn't enough.
The Center has fought for years to protect manatees, including through lawsuits to secure Endangered Species Act protection for them.
We took legal action to force the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to address the clean-water standards that are failing manatees so tragically.
And we're challenging the Service's inaction on updating their critical habitat designation — a step it agreed was necessary more than a decade ago.
The rising death toll is proof Florida's manatees are in crisis.
If we're going to put these gentle giants on the path to recovery, we need to give them a home free of the pollution that kills off their food.
Please make a matched gift today to the Saving Life on Earth Fund and help us save manatees.
For the wild,
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