Florida Manatee family

The Florida manatee, Florida’s state large aquatic mammal and interestedly its closest living relatives are the elephant and hyrax. Since manatees spend their life in the water, climate change pose significant threats to their well-being. Higher water temperatures along the Gulf Coast has lead to an increase in toxic algae blooms, such as the red tide that killed more than 150 manatees in 1996. Global warming also raises the odds against these already endangered creatures by increasing the likelihood of larger and more frequent hurricanes. Other threats to manatees include destruction and degradation of their coastal and freshwater habitat. The leading known cause of death is by boat strikes; propellers and hulls inflict serious or mortal wounds. Most manatees have a pattern of scars on their backs or tails after surviving collisions with boats.

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Marine freshwater mammal manatee sea_cow

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