Did you know that March is Seagrass Awareness Month?
Even if I have not convinced you to wear green (see previous post), we can all agree that everyone needs to eat green—especially manatees.
These are tough times for the beloved manatee and its most important food source. I have just started a GoFundMe page to help raise a little extra money before the end of March: Save the Manatee this Seagrass Awareness Month.
The fact that March is Seagrass Awareness month has never been more vitally appropriate.
Manatees are creatures of habit, returning to their limited safe havens during the cooler part of the year. In these spots, they rely principally on seagrass to eat, and warmer waters to protect them from deadly cold stress. Manatees have very little protective fat—their round shape is due to the bulk of their digestive tract.
The safe havens, because of decades of human-produced pollution, are being choked out by algae blooms leading to a massive loss of seagrass. Marine biologists state that the current tragic die-off of manatees is due to starvation.
In the deadliest year on record, 2021, more than 1,100 manatees perished—most of these starved to death. Those that ventured along the coast in search of food risked death from cold stress or boat strike. In 2022, the preliminary estimate is that 800 of these beloved creatures perished.
Rescue crews have been rushing to save as many manatees as they can, but this loss can't be sustained. Manatees were prematurely removed from the Endangered Species List in 2017—prematurely because all the threats that could lead to the extinction of this iconic species are still present. This recent death count is proving that.
Manatees have been around for between 30 and 60 million years. We can't let human carelessness and selfishness wipe this gentle and intelligent species off the face of the earth.
If you can add $5 to to the total of my fundraiser, I would be so grateful. If you don't have anything to spare but would like to help, please share the fundraiser. Thank you!