HuManatee

Wakulla Citizens Action Group

Manatee Protection and Membership Information

Post Office Box 52

St. Marks, FL 32355

904-925-6412

MANATEES ARE ENDANGERED

use these facts and tell others about the

WEST INDIAN MANATEE

Manatees have lived in Florida as long as 45 million years.

In 1990 there were less than 2,000 manatees alive in Florida waters.

Manatees are found in Florida in both the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean, near the shorelines and in the rivers.

Manatees migrate to Wakulla County waters between April and November and some have been known to stay the winter months.

Manatees cannot survive cold water temperatures below 68 degrees for long periods of time.

Manatees are vegetarians. They eat 60-100 pounds of plants that clog waterways each day.

Manatees are mammals. they must surface often to breathe air. They give birth to usually one calf every two years.

1993 reports show that 80% of all manatee deaths are related to watercrafts and humans.

What You Can Do To Help Protect The Manatee

We must learn to enjoy their freedom and uniqueness as passive observers. Interaction with the manatees poses another threat to their survival. To feed, touch or swim with them creates trust and dependence and a change in their natural behavior. It is also illegal to harass them and is punishable by a fine.

When you're in a boat, observe the Caution Manatee Zone signs. Go slowly and look out for the dark snouts that surface above the water about every five minutes. Wear polarized sunglasses to help you see the well camouflaged manatee under water.

When you see a manatee, turn your motor off or pass the mantee slowly. This will give the manatee time to move to a safer place. Enjoy watching these slow moving gentle mammals as they play and feed.

Keep your power boat in the channel. The manatees usually stay along the shoreline in shallow water while feeding and resting. Manatees will dive to deeper water if given enough time to hear a boat coming. Fast moving boats do not allow enough time for the slow moving manatees to move out of harms way. Please go slowly in Manatee zones, their survival depends on you.

Ask other boaters to slow down and watch out for the manatees.

If you are near the water, please do not discard trash or tangles fishing line into the water. Manatees are often injured, sometimes mortally, by ingesting trash trapped in the plants where they feed.

Call the Florida Marina Patrol on your VHF marine radio or 1-800-DIAL-FMP to report boats speeding in manatee regulartory zones.

Call the 24 hour hot-line if you see a manatee that is injured, suffering, or being harassed. (1-800-DIAL-FMP or HuManatee) If injured, specify location of the manatee, type of injury, your name and a call back number. Attempt to stay near the manatee until help can arrive.

Call The Wakulla News (904-926-7102) or HuManatee (904-925-6412) to report any sightings.

JOIN HUMANATEE

Become a mamber of HuManatee and help a Wakulla based action group protect and support the manatees of Wakulla county.

HuManatee was founded June 14, 1990 to inform the public about Wakulla county's migrating herd of manatees.

Volunteers communicated with private and governmental agencies, civic groups,

HuManatee encourages people to become aware of the manatee's plight, and its right to exist freely, without human interference.

Your support will:

provide funds to oeprate the Wakulla County based Manatee protection and awareness efforts.

Provide funds for educational materials for public outrach programs in a multi-county area.

Provide funds for technical and emergency equipment to assistance manatees in need of help.

Provide a "power-base" to show Florida's legislators and local governments that the survival of endangered manatee and the protection of its habitat is important to you.

Provide manatee warning signs in our local waterways

Help to inform others, as you become aware and share your knowledge and interest in the manatee.