The Threat to Sea Cows

By Addison Bruce

Pictures Courtesy of Gregory Sweeney and Hailey Warrington

Manatees are the cows of the sea and are very unique mammals. They are rotund and wrinkly, and like Jim Gaffigan says, “it’s like a gray beanbag chair with a face”. Nonetheless, they are also some of the most peaceful and kind animals in the world. They live in coastal bodies of water in the Bahamas and Brazil. However, a large population lives in Florida waters, and because of this, Florida has a very popular rehabilitation center for injured or disabled manatees.

They have no natural predators, not sharks, alligators, or other animals. Manatees are no threat to any species, so they live peacefully alongside all other aquatic life. Unfortunately, like a lot of life on earth, they have one detrimental enemy: humans.

Manatees are an endangered species because they really cannot do anything to protect themselves. They move at 19 miles per hour, have dull and small teeth, and are simply harmless. However, humans and human machinery are the main causes of death for these mammals. To begin with, the thing that kills most manatees is boat or ship collisions. These accidents can happen when the manatees get hit by the propellers of the boat or the boat drives into where they are resting.

Even though these collisions aren’t intentional, captains or whoever is operating the machinery could explore options on how to decrease these accidents. For example, they could stay in marked channels that they know are safe to go through, report any injured manatees, avoid places where manatees rest, install safety accessories to their boat propellers, or just be cautious of organisms in their path.

On the other hand, there are people who intentionally hurt manatees because they will do nothing to fight back. As people, we take advantage of everything that we have, good or bad, and this is an example of taking advantage of something innocent. Some people poach them for resources such as oil and fat in their skin, bones, and meat. Fortunately, poaching manatees has recently become illegal because of conservation laws. One situation that blew up on the internet in 2021 was when a manatee had the word “TRUMP” engraved on their back. Several organizations investigated who did this and also offered reward money (about $5000 to $8000) to find the person who did this but they never found them. It is a shame to see that once again, other organisms are put at risk or harmed because of humans.

As lovable as these creatures are, we do not treat them the way they deserve to be treated. They are incredibly unique and interesting animals and we need to work harder to protect them. In everyday life, a choice you make impacts others. There is something called an “Externality ripple effect” which means a choice you make affects someone or something that did not choose to be involved.

Manatees and other organisms that are endangered or impacted by humans do not contribute to the negative things humans have done. It might not cross anyone’s mind that something we do for work is impacting something else negatively because, ultimately, people work for the check. In all, please try to be conscious of your global impact and try to reflect on what you can do for our life on Earth.