Manatee Appreciation Day

Florida’s iconic marine mammal — the manatee — faces numerous threats from water pollution and vessel strikes to entanglement and ingestion of marine debris.

Originally listed as endangered on the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1973, the state’s population has since grown to at least 7,520 animals today. It was reclassified from an endangered to a threatened species in May 2017.

However, in 2021, 1,101 manatees died in Florida, mostly from starvation due to a lack of seagrass and more continue to die this year. FAU researchers are doing their part to help these animals, from establishing seagrass nurseries to helping rescue and rehabilitate injured individuals.