oh man. when i was younger, i drew ALL these pictures after i went to seaworld saying "save the manatees!" i'll post them someday, if i can find them. they were pretty sweet. I just fell in love with them.
I'm so doing this next week when I'm not broke: http://www.savethemanatee.org/adoptpag.htm I want a manatee They are my favorite. I remember going to something like Sea World...and just sitting there STARING at them, in utter amazement.
Manatees are not endangered and don't need saving. STM is going after the powerboaters who are NOT the problem. The big slow-moving cruisers are the problem. Their props are deeper in the water which causes injuries and deaths to the manatees. Not only that, but all the no-wake zones are killing intercoastal businesses in Florida. This whole thing has gotten WAY out of control. The courts need to rein in STM before they kill all boating in Florida.
The Manatees are endangered...around the world. Mankind is obsessed for the need for speed...is it so important to arrive somewhere five minutes faster than you would if you cut down on your speed while driving in your silly, noisy powerboats? Speedboats/cruisers are part of the problem...there are other issues certainly - not the least of which is pollution... Manatees can't save themselves...it's a pity that human being who are supposed to be so smart can't think of a way of saving manatees...but then, they can't even save themselves, either! Young folk here...the only way to save the environment, to save the whales, etc. etc. is for you to go into politics yourself and put yourself into a position of power so you can do something about it.
Use a canoe! Really, any source will tell you how the peaceful manatee's numbers have been dwindling for at least 30 years because of humans encroaching on their habitat and injuring them because they move too slowly to get away from boats.