Manatees are incredible creatures; slow, gentle, friendly, and wildly curious. With no natural predators, these sea cows move slowly and freely through the water. As well as this, they can’t see very far, with a range of eyesight up to only four feet in front of them. Usually ranging from 9.5 ft to 13.5 ft in length, weighing between 800 and 3,500 pounds, they can be quite a scare when you see them in the water for the first time. 

For the longest time, humans have been obsessed with them. Pirates used to see them in the water and base stories on them, which is what gave us mermaids. Fascination with the creatures has always persisted, since they don’t run away often. Humans would touch, play, and swim with manatees in the wild, and those gentle giants were more than happy to oblige humans’ greedy desires. However, touching and harassing manatees is now illegal to conserve and grow their populations. 

Manatees are often seen with scars, injuries, and old wounds that refuse to fade; some from their own accidents, but most of the time, it’s from humans. Manatees don’t have any natural predators and are primarily herbivores, so they don’t pose any threat to humans. Still, humans found reasons and ways to hurt them. With the innovations in technology, Manatees became vulnerable to injuries posed by motorboat collisions and run-ins with propellers, most of which were accidental. However, accidental harm is not the only way that humans devastate Manatee populations. In 2021, someone carved the name “TRUMP’ on the back of a manatee, and while this didn’t injure the animal too seriously, it’s just a small show of what these creatures go through. The use of fishing lines in manatee-filled areas poses a threat of entanglement and potential hooking. 

Though physical harm isn’t the only issue. Manatees are an endangered species, and one of the biggest leading factors to their endangerment is global warming and climate change. Trash, debris, and excessive destruction of their habitat disrupts the grazing and migration of the manatees, leading to large population decreases. 

In recent years, though, manatee populations have begun to grow. In Florida, especially in Crystal River, manatees congregate in the hundreds to stay warm in the constant 72 degree springs. If you want, you can still swim with the manatees, but you should refrain from touching them, and you should do your research for tour guides to get the best, and safest experience, for both you and the manatees. 

I personally got to swim with them, and it was one of my favorite experiences. While it was difficult to hold back from touching the manatees that, quite literally, would swim up to you and stare at you, merely inches from touching you, it is a necessary precaution to protect the lives of the manatees. It’s a truly magical experience, and seeing the manatees flourishing in their natural environment is a gorgeous sight.