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Hi John,
Manatees can weigh up to 3,500 pounds, feeding for six to eight hours a day — mostly on seagrass.
But that seagrass is vanishing because of polluted water, and manatees are starving to death. In the past two years, nearly 2,000 of Florida's manatees have perished.
We’ve taken action to fully safeguard these peaceable giants. Please help with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
The ecocide of Florida's manatees has been called an "unusual mortality event." It began in 2021, when a record 1,100 of them died. Last year another 800 died, marking a two-year record for the species.
And it's not letting up. Already this year the death toll is 56.
A dwindling food supply and malnutrition are pushing these iconic marine mammals to the brink — the die-off represents more than 20% of their Atlantic population.
It's not just a lack of food that's putting them at risk, either. Boat strikes cause fatalities, too.
It's clear these gentle sea creatures are in serious distress. The Center for Biological Diversity has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore full protection to them under the Endangered Species Act.
We've also sued the Environmental Protection Agency over their polluted habitat. Federally approved water-quality standards are far too low, and manatees' suffering is the tragic proof.
There's no more time to lose.
The Center has fought for years to protect manatees, filing suits to secure their protection and to stop the harmful algal blooms that are killing their food supply.
Saving the planet's biodiversity requires bold, urgent action. We won't stop fighting for manatees and all species on the knife's edge.
Please help with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
For the wild,
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