Why Manatees Matter!

It's a dolphin! It's a shark! It's a mermaid? 

Join Kendra, Amber, and our guest, Kat Montgomery, this week as we explore the creature that was once confused with mermaids.... the Manatee! 

Transcript

Kendra Clark:   0:00
This is Episode 26. Why Manatees matter? Welcome to why blank matters where we explore how small topics have big impacts. I'm your host, Kendra Clark,

Amber Williams:   0:27
and I'm your host, Amber Williams. I've been a little bit of a cold this week, but we also have a guest with us today. Cat Montgomery.  

Kat Montgomery:   0:34
Hello.  

Amber Williams:   0:35
She's a manatee enthusiast and she regularly hosts manatee parties. And so she's gonna be just a little bit more about manatees.

Kat Montgomery:   0:43
Well, OK, I did regularly host vanity parties in college and I forced all my friends to go, and I'm gonna force them all to listen to this also.  

Kendra Clark:   0:52
Good for us. But I do have a manatee joke for y'all, though. What do you call a manatee that gets naked for money? 

Amber Williams:   1:15
Nekked? I don't know. 

Kendra Clark:   1:15
A man-a-teaser. You can tell, we're obviously talking about manatees today. Um, Amber, you had a  pretty interesting encounter with the manatee once. Didn't you yet?

Amber Williams:   1:22
Yes, the last year Kat and I actually went paddleboarding. Was your first time paddleboarding or did you go kayaking?  

Kat Montgomery:   1:27
Okay? Well, we didn't paddleboard. We kayaked because it's too windy. So I never have never  paddleboarding and I will not go with you. 

Amber Williams:   1:35
So I was either in a cock or a paddleboard. I'd seen some sort of Finn that I had never seen before. And Kat was like, What was it curved? And I was like, No. And I was like, I don't think it was a dolphin. And it wasn't And whatever it was was not a dolphin. I couldn't figure out what it was. And so we, we went back and I googled it later, and I'm pretty sure what I saw was a shark, a brown shark at that. So there's like some sharks along the coastline. Could be either like a bull shark, but after some googling it realized it could be a  sandbar shark. So two weeks later, my mom came to visit and I took her paddleboarding to the exact same spot. I didn't tell her about my little shark experience. So we're paddleboarding and all of a sudden she gets a knocked off of her paddleboard and she's like it feels like something bumps me. So I have my dog with me and there's this couple in there. If there's something big underneath you and I was like what she's like, Yeah, I think it's a manatee. Mind you, we're in South Carolina. So I'm like, "There's no manatees in these waters there sharks and there's dolphins. And I was like, Well, what did it look like? And the lady was just like, I don't know. I just saw a face!" And that was the most terrifying thing someone could have said. And so, um, and my mom was like, Yeah, it feels like something knocked me off my paddleboard. And deh-deh-deh then she was like, Amber  it's right  behind you!.  

Kat Montgomery:   2:55
That reminds me of a few years ago there was like a viral thing that came out about a girl who was swimming in the water with her phone and there was something behind her and it was manatee, but she couldn't tell it was a manatee, and she was like screaming and freaking out and trying to swim back to her boat. Just just I don't know. And I was like, If that was me, I'd be so happy. But I guess it's scary when they're right. They're they're really It's just like a big shadow under the water, and you really can't

Amber Williams:   3:18
And it was a manatee. But it was in South Carolina. I was like, there's no way, there's no way. 

Kat Montgomery:   3:23
Well, I teach you some things today. A ay, um, Amber mentioned that I held some manatee parties and basically what that was is instead of writing a paper, something in college, I made a very informational slide show about manatees, um, to talk to my friends about it. And then I had a fun little, you know, trivia after that, to see if they were paying attention, and they usually were not in like, That's okay, But my my parties were actually featured on the Save the manatee dot org's Web site. A real big deal.

Kendra Clark:   4:00
I think she's kind of a big thing.

Kat Montgomery:   4:02
 I'm kind of a big deal. But so, yes, So these questions are based off of the things that I talked about in this very outdated power point with amazing, outdated names. It's a gym, so an amber have, and I have not seen the power

Amber Williams:   4:15
point. We have our own ring, our own

Kendra Clark:   4:18
research that we've done so far. So we went. We haven't even been educated, so this is the perfect way to make somebody do a trivia show. The bet is all of the money in both of their wallets have

Amber Williams:   4:28
no money in my wallet. I've been sick for three days, which means I haven't worked for three days, so I have no money. Okay, Reese, Like negative. You. So, like, if we lose, you pay us, right? This is great. I was tryingto good. Come on, my friends. Out of money and it's not gonna work. Well anyway, question one. How many

Kendra Clark:   4:51
different types of manatees are living today? Bonus points, if you can name all of

Amber Williams:   4:56
that. So we have the West Indian manatee that's in like Florida. We have the African manatee who that's in Africa in the Amazonian manatee. And then we have the do gong, which is sort of not a manatee, but in the same family. Okay, And then I don't

Kendra Clark:   5:17
know what the last one is. Well, there's the dwarf manatee, but it's like is abated on whether it's a different kind of species or just a branch of the Amazonian. Yeah, there's like a little baby. Tiny there, about four feet long with normal manatees are about 7 to 8 feet long. Okay, so maybe 60 feet. I don't know. I'm short. So seeing Anna get manatees are giant. It's hard to kind of

Amber Williams:   5:41
get down. Hey, are they look so big. Um,

Kendra Clark:   5:45
so the next question is, what is the perfect temperature for manatees Within five degrees is acceptable 50

Amber Williams:   5:52
degrees. And it's like 60 isn't it? 72. What? 72

Kendra Clark:   5:58
Manatees are mammals, so they are warm blooded, so they cannot be in water. That is too cold. Which is why it is very difficult for them to find places where they can live. So, like the ones that we have, you know, in our area, live in, um, the natural springs in Florida because they stay a constant temperature. Question three. What? Animals are the closest relatives to the manatee elephant, and I don't know another one. Ah, the high racks. Which is a rodent. Yeah. I don't know what happened. Um, b s so ding ding. The biggest one is the elf. So

Amber Williams:   6:39
what you're telling

Kendra Clark:   6:40
me is an elephants who are traditionally afraid of mice and rats. At some point, they merged

Amber Williams:   6:46
one made and made the most improbable. Made the creature on the planet. Yes. So another

Kendra Clark:   6:51
wolf fun fact about that is so manatees actually have fingernails on their flippers, but so yet so they have those just kind of like their relatives. And that proves the theory of evolution. Further, if you believe in that kind of thing. Which way do

Amber Williams:   7:05
you believe in evolution? I just trying to keep it a question. The evolution you D'oh. Then I

Kendra Clark:   7:15
am another power point for you. Okay, question for what is the biggest threat to the manatee species? Humans? The duties of the more specific than that and it is more specific in this weather is like voting like boating accidents where the boots hit them. I don't know if that's the highest, though. Or if it's lost a habitat. It is loss of habitat, but neither to highest. I don't know which

Amber Williams:   7:38
one was actually. Yes, humans just sick doesn't mean you get to be. Oh, but she does bring up a good point that vanities

Kendra Clark:   7:51
actually have no natural predators. Yes, manatees have no natural predators, so humans are the biggest. Think of a nicer word then, like scourge of the Earth. But humans are the biggest detriment. Thio threat. Manatees. Yeah, really the biggest threat to most of nature, so Yeah, so that's really cute. Okay, question. Carnivore her before, or Omnivore

Amber Williams:   8:20
Herbivore before. Actually the largest Harper bore or the ocean's largest? Yes, 10% of their body weight in a day. And that could be, like £130?

Kendra Clark:   8:30
Heck, yeah. Are you already know that some body goals, though, I would say. Okay, question six way about what kind of vanity is Magnolia? My giant stuffed animal

Amber Williams:   8:48
man, I love so much. I still have it. Is a West Indian. She is? Yes,

Kendra Clark:   8:58
she is. She's so cute. Okay, okay. So question seven. What type of water? Humanity's like the best Fresh fresh water or brackish water. Those are two different types of water. What do we have? A consensus?

Amber Williams:   9:13
Just warm water, Right? They like the drink. Fresh water. They like fresh water. Okay, so that

Kendra Clark:   9:19
includes springs, rivers and inland. But they can swim in the ocean. Which would get into more of why Amber maybe didn't think that manatees could be in South Carolina. But during the summer months, manatees can swim as far as Texas and as far upwards as like, the Massachusetts area. And famously, a few years ago, exactly, probably a decade ago. Now, because it's 2020 there was a manatee that was trapped in the Hudson River. I had to rescue

Amber Williams:   9:45
him because he wasn't Wallace. Yeah, and

Kendra Clark:   9:47
it was like cold. And I know they keep having to be rescued, but they're so cute, they're worth it. Okay, so question eight, What are at least two things that you can do to help the manatees? A tender manatee parties? Um, yeah. Um,

Amber Williams:   10:03
probably be mindful of, like boating, boating laws and, like, speed regulations.

Kendra Clark:   10:10
OK, if you boat. But I don't live in Florida and I don't want a boat. Please

Amber Williams:   10:16
believe in climate change. Okay, Sure. So there's a lot of

Kendra Clark:   10:21
answers. Like, you know, if you see a manatee, even though I trust me, it's very hard. You should not touch them, even though I want to give them hugs. You should not do that. You should not feed them like any. You know, wild animal. And you should not approach them in boats. Because the

Amber Williams:   10:33
reason and some people think

Kendra Clark:   10:34
that manatees air like, why are they so stupid? They keep getting hit by boats. Well, okay. They move kind of slow. They

Amber Williams:   10:40
can move sort of fast.

Kendra Clark:   10:41
They can move about like 20 miles an hour. but they just like, don't because yeah, I don't want to move that fast either. Um, but they are just really curious. Um, and they actually really love people. So they'll just come up to your boat like,

Amber Williams:   10:55
Hey, what is this?

Kendra Clark:   10:56
And they kind of, like, chew on the ropes and stuff that are hanging off of both is calling flaws for their teeth. Um, yeah. So they're just, like, trying to say hey, and then your boat hurts them. So anyway, okay, getting the real sad real fast. Okay. What are some behavioral characteristics of manatees I just kind of talked about. They're very curious Curia. Lt's I have no idea. They're very sweet and loving in docile. Um, why should we all try to protect the manatees? Know this question is not bias at all. Because they're cute. Okay, Sure, because I mean, all animals play an important role in ecosystems, and a loss of any animal will call some sort of consequence. In that ecosystem

Amber Williams:   11:48
is a manatee in keystone species. It's not okay.

Kendra Clark:   11:51
It is in my heart, but And also, um, you know, they don't do any harm to really like anything, especially humans and so we should do no harm to them. So,

Amber Williams:   12:05
yeah, that was it. Yeah. You guys did a pretty good job. Yeah. Who's doing better than the people who came to the party? No. Wait. Without the power point, that was pretty good.

Kendra Clark:   12:17
Yeah, but Shadow tell my friends for Mercer, who came to my parties and literally would eat a bowl of raw lettuce. That

Amber Williams:   12:26
was one of the game, like, you know, manatees.

Kendra Clark:   12:29
You had to, like, you know, eat a bold letters with your hands. So,

Amber Williams:   12:32
Katie, what exactly is it

Kendra Clark:   12:34
about manatees that kind of caught your attention and made you locked them so much? That is a great question, because I honestly do not know. I just know there's a picture of me when I was about three years old at Seaworld, and I'm standing next to a statue

Amber Williams:   12:49
of manatees,

Kendra Clark:   12:50
and I was like, Okay, so I I just really, always love manatees. I just think they're super cute and adorable. And, you know, I've lived in this, you know, like the low country for some time. So I've been really drawn to see life on, and I'm not basics I don't like Dolphins. Dolphins are creepy

Amber Williams:   13:09
s. Oh, yeah, I

Kendra Clark:   13:11
just Seriously, I have always always loved manatees so much. Um, yes, it's a part of me. I was probably one in a past life. And since this is audio, you obviously can't see us video recording. Katie is actually wearing a save the manatees T shirt. It's only one of several that I own. Yeah. So

Amber Williams:   13:33
where is it that

Kendra Clark:   13:34
manatees tend to live? Yes. Oh, um, And again for this podcast, we're talking about the West Indian manatee, which lives primarily in Florida, especially during November to march. So it's actually peak vanity season. Right now, you can go and see them at the different parks and things. They live in the springs and inlets in Florida because the water stays a constant and it's not too cold. Ah, but from May to October, they can swim in the ocean. And like I said earlier, they can swim pretty far. But yet they just really don't like the cold. That's kind of the only thing, which is why it's That's why it's kind of a hot topic about factories that are on the coastline because they produce warmer water than normal. So that's where a lot of me and he's like to hang out. Like in Tampa. There's a big manatee like observation deck, and it's right next to Aid Shine Factory s so it's not super pretty. But that's wrong.

Amber Williams:   14:32
Amenities like to hang out

Kendra Clark:   14:33
because it's warm game chamber And I actually went there two years ago. I think it was, um, we have to see all the manatees and it was like extra cold in Tampa because there's like, right after we got the snow here in Savannah So that was like the extra cold winner was really cool. A lot of manatees, they were, and uh, honestly, let the whole idea of coal plants and like manatees co existing, is what kind of really drew me into this topic because it's such a like there was an article on it's called Keep Burning Coal or the Manatee gets it, um, which is, like kind of a funny article name. But they talked about how, like this this weird paradox between, you know, coal plants, basically being there warms the water. So manatees go there because they need warm water and there's not enough springs. Warm Springs go on them have either been balled up or overrun different things like that. Um, I think one number said that, like 60% of manatees and Florida's actually go to artificially warmed water Baikal plants versus natural warm springs. But because the manatees have sold out these warm waters to survive, it's actually some

Amber Williams:   15:49
of the

Kendra Clark:   15:49
environmental activists who have salt, too. Ensure those waterways are protected. That kind of unintentionally also end up protecting the coal plant. There's like this weird paradox of like coal plants were really bad for the environment, but also they helped provide sanctuary for the manatees. And, um, it's really like a, you know, like a Catch 22 situation, because we kind of have messed up their natural, you know, a place where they would live before, and then we kind of, you know, messed that up. Once the power companies kind of started realizing that manatees were using their waterways. Um, I was in 1985 the Florida Power and Light started producing a distributing information. Booklets about manatees are giving out man ity bumper stickers, and a year later was when the Tampa Electric Company opened the big band manatee viewing board, Walt to the public process when we were talking about where that Amber and I have been to, um so the power companies are obviously, uh, what's the word, um, providing an environment for them? Unity's know they're

Amber Williams:   16:56
like they're they're taking advantage of using that are

Kendra Clark:   16:59
using that to their advantage, I guess too late when public support. But Thea, the Tampa electric company, is the only electric company. That's really that's the only place you can publicly give you the manatees. I think there's like 10 different cold cup coal plants that manatees tend to go to. I think two of them shut down this year's and that correct? Yes. Um, but the temple was the only one. That's kind of like, taken advantage of that and say, Hey, come view the manatees and they have a good educational center and all that,

Amber Williams:   17:30
which I think is great. It is, Yeah. Um, I know a

Kendra Clark:   17:34
lot of people were concerned in 2015 because part of the Paris agreement called for rapid de carbon ization of the global power sector, which meant getting rid of coal plants. And so the question became like what happens if he's caught what happens to the manatees of these coal plants? Shut down. And so, um, this is interesting. So think Big Bend and Tampa has roughly 250,000 visitors a year. So because free to doesn't cost anything.

Amber Williams:   18:06
Yeah, and probably saw hundreds of manatee. There was a lot when we

Kendra Clark:   18:10
went there last year. Yeah, yeah, it's very important to them. And that's why it's so like, it's just kind of weird, I don't know, because we as humans messed up there, you know, natural habitat, um, you know, to begin with because of, you know, a lot of land development because people want to live in Florida. They wanna live on the inlets on the springs is it is beautiful. Ah, but my whole take is, you know, like manatees can't really live anywhere else.

Amber Williams:   18:36
Well, I think I think I

Kendra Clark:   18:37
read in one of the articles that Florida is trying to bring back some of the natural springs for them to be able to use. But I think they said it took a roughly around 50 years for the manatees to find their way to the power plants because they have very good memories, and they keep in mind where they need to go. Yes. And so we're looking at, like, another 50 years for them to learn to go to these other. Yeah, that's close to the lake. That's kind of the hot topic is that it's just gonna mess up there migration pattern.

Amber Williams:   19:06
So they still go to some of the springs and vote for sure. You're just, like,

Kendra Clark:   19:10
60% that uses the power plants. Okay? Yeah, because there's really not a ton of Yeah, there's just not a lot of the more because of development. Imagine that the water coming from the coal plants is warmer than the springs, cause, like, spring water is cold and comparison.

Amber Williams:   19:25
Yeah, I think that this is

Kendra Clark:   19:26
about 65. Okay? Ish degrees 65 to maybe 70. I'm not a scientist. I'm not a water scientist. I don't know. It's the other thing is, I think there was a study in 2013 and they found that Florida was the third in the nation when it came to power plant carbon dioxide missions beyond the Big Bend factory was actually Florida second worst polluter.

Amber Williams:   19:50
So maybe we'll get number one nukes do,

Kendra Clark:   19:54
which is why they need all the extra PR. Um, yup. But when it comes to like, um, when it comes to carbon dioxide, I mean, that's one way that manatees do help. One

Amber Williams:   20:07
of the biggest effect

Kendra Clark:   20:07
they have on the environment is that they eat a lot of sea grass and they graze on, which helps to kind of maintain the sea grass on helps control weeds also helps control mosquitoes, which I didn't know. Um, that's always a plus, you know. The thing that you tend to point, they tend to point out, is that it helps to ensure that the waterways don't become overgrown with sea grass, so you don't have as many boating accidents and things like that. But maintaining sea grass is really important because it plays an important role in the carbon cycle. And sea grass is very effective at trapping carbon dioxide below the surface of the water. It's considered what they call a blue carbon ecosystem, which is just anything that store carbon dioxide and a consort for like thousands of years, like even after it dies and awesome, so as like carving goes and into the um, atmosphere atmosphere. Yes, because we're helping each other today. Um, yes. Those carbon goes into the atmosphere. They kind of help absorb it as much as they can. Um, obviously, as we contend to as well continue to put more carbon into the atmosphere. They can only absorb so much. Um, but also because a lot of organizations about wanting to help the manatees, they've actually been planning more sea grass and really developing in making sugar the stays healthy. So that is one way that they tend to help the sea grass is really important and mitigating against climate effects place. Um, why? I mean, I think that it's really awesome that people are trying to help this, you know, Amazing, beautiful, docile creature, um, stay alive because manatees kind of have everything going against them. So there's a type certain aspects of a species that make it easier for it to go extinct. One is being big, um, slow having a specific type of, um, ecosystem where it can live and having, um, predictable migration patterns. So manatees are in all of this category, so that be something like a sea turtle, for example, is also one of those animals or the majestic and relative to the manatee elephants. So get, like all three of my favorite animals are just gonna like going stay. We're all gonna go extinct anyway,

Amber Williams:   22:36
huh? Yeah. So that's why I think

Kendra Clark:   22:44
it's really awesome that people are kind of, you know, they see that and they're like, Well, okay, we've kind of done a lot toe mess up this, you know, creature's life. So we're gonna help them. And I think that's really awesome. Yeah, I think one of the things that really help people help kind of catch the attention of the average person is the fact that has been such a push toward, like, tourism around Manatee. So, like viewing center that we went to our also. I think one of the biggest is in Crystal River, Florida, because the only place that you can legally swim with the manatees, that's where I went because manatees actually provide a huge boost to the economy in Florida because they've come is particularly Crystal River. They

Amber Williams:   23:25
have

Kendra Clark:   23:25
built their entire tourism around manatees. Um, gather whole town is like manatee themed and

Amber Williams:   23:33
part of the

Kendra Clark:   23:33
reason why it's because they used to have a nuclear plant there, and it was one of the biggest employers in the city, and it shut down. And so to kind of this, like during the recession and so to kind of replace that they started focusing on manatees and trying to bring people into the city. For that, the tour is own. Yep, cool. But they haven't managed T statue in front of the whole. They have a big annual manatee festival. Um, is like Manatee Central. It's my heaven. Yes, um, like get roughly like 30,000 visitors a year. And it's estimated that it brings in $20 million in revenue. Um, which is a big deal for a city that's population is only like 3000

Amber Williams:   24:22
people. It's a very small town. There's

Kendra Clark:   24:24
nothing there but you know, adds roughly like 400 tourism jobs as well. So it's also like providing jobs, bringing in revenue and taxes. So it's really important to their economy, like I don't know what they would do without it. But just like every other type of sounds, too good to be,

Amber Williams:   24:43
Oh, what's the catch is eco

Kendra Clark:   24:48
tourism is great because it does provide a lot of awareness to different animals and helping to I have a better understanding of them and having people connect with them. That reason, you know, zoos help Children kind of understand animals and want to protect them a little bit more. Um so eagle tourism isn't necessarily bad, but it can be because in Crystal River, for example, one of the issues they're running into is swimming with the manatees becoming Maur more popular. Yes, So I can kind of speak to that a little bit. So I went swimming with manatees in 2013. I believe it's been too long. I don't want to go back, but so I didn't, you know, I didn't really know what I was getting into. I just kind of, you know, like solid heard about it, and it really wasn't that expensive. So they only totally do this, you know? And I just kind of thought there was only, you know, like one I mean, a place you could go to, you know, take it out toe, see them because they are again in endangered species or we're gonna talk about the leader. So I didn't realize that there were a bunch of other companies that would do the same thing. So it was really crowded with boats and with people on there were different times that you could go. So I'm sure that if you went like, you know, 6 a.m. issue would be a little better. We went around, I think nine in the morning and the place where we swam was in Ginny Springs. Um, it's a really big hot spot for the manatee, and they do have thes like ropes where you can't swim to them. It's like their little like a sanctuary. And what's really I have a picture which I gotta start You guys, you can't see You can see, like how many manatees are behind that? Cause they like No. Hey, people are kind of messed with buzz of We're over here. It was packed with manatees behind the rope, but it was just very crowded. And there were some people that would kind of like circle them, you know, and just like all want to touch one at a time. And I was like That just doesn't seem super gray. It might kind of like overwhelm them because again, they are wild animals. Even though they're like, super gentle and like people. It just felt like a lot happening all at once. So I could see firsthand how it would kind of be a problem. And even though I love vanities and I want to, you know, see them more kind of support people wanting to put a halt on the whole, swim with them program, or maybe just kind of like downgraded because it was is a lot. Yes, I think as long as it's got more popular, I think initially there were only like a handful of tour groups. And now there's, like 40

Amber Williams:   27:26
different order. Yeah, that doesn't even

Kendra Clark:   27:28
include, like, people who just have, like, charter a boat or like I like, who aren't even part of a tour group and just come on their own. And as it becomes more popular, if these tour companies are also moving to larger boats that are more like high powered, which are more likely to accidentally hitting Thio, which like against the entire purpose of what they're trying to do, yeah, and let over how, like the high density of people can, even if people follow all the rules and don't touch them or chase them or go behind the barrier. Just even having that overcrowded us can calls them like physiological stress and also just changed their normal behavior. Or so if they see all these boats around, they see people around. Then that might make them more likely to go up to boats in the water when there's a regular swimming. Which boat strikes from one of the biggest causes of deaths for manatee. And so we're almost encouraging that behavior. Yeah, and actually sad fact cats. At fact, um, there are so many scars on the bodies of manatees that that's how people can, like, tell them apart.

Amber Williams:   28:44
So it's out, so add to, like, how to identify them. There are like manatee trackers, and they look kind of different from what you'd anticipate from like how they track like other. See wildlife, I guess. And so the tracker for manatees consist of three different parts, has little belt around their tail and then a little tether and then, like a satellite thing that floats off them. That's how it's so cute and so. But it can disconnect if they get stuck or distressed. Um, and so, like, if you spot One of these manatees, like

Kendra Clark:   29:18
you're supposed to call like wildlife and fish and tell them

Amber Williams:   29:21
like, Hey, this is what we saw this man ity doing It was like eating or it was rolling over like you're supposed to kind of tell behavior and like if it's with a group of other man and T and so fun little facts. So I think the thing that it's that goes around its the belt, it's some part of it's called the pad uncle. But first I was like, That's not what I imagined it tracker to look like, but it's It's like a satellite tracked, I guess, asked to come to the surface. So and so we've talked a

Kendra Clark:   29:54
lot about, like how we've tried mentees, how they're important, kind of how all some of the conservation efforts have been made to kind of like help save the manatees as K T shirt, says, um,

Amber Williams:   30:07
because manatees were

Kendra Clark:   30:07
actually one of the first animals that were added to the endangered species list after the act passed in Congress in 1972 because it's estimated that, like in 1991 there were only which is like 30 years after that, I think there are only a few 100 seventies but 90 91. They're estimated to be like 1200 which isn't a lot. Um, and in 2017 they were actually reclassified by the the Fish and Wildlife Service is they were changed from an endangered species to a threatened or vulnerable vulnerable species. Um, because the current population is roughly around like 6000. Um,

Amber Williams:   30:52
this has been

Kendra Clark:   30:52
like with some controversy there, definitely organizations such as the Save the Manatee Club who kind of were against them removing them from the list because they didn't want the protections to go away with it. Because even though they may not be in danger, there are still threats that if these protections were taken away, still quickly return back to being endangered. Some of the things they put into place was they made some of the springs where people weren't allowed to go there, blocked off strictly for manatees. Um, they slowed down the boating speed zones in a lot of areas, so that boat were supposed to go slower if they were less likely to hit the manatees. Um, Katie may know some other protections I had.

Amber Williams:   31:40
Yeah, just might

Kendra Clark:   31:41
like. So, you know, everyone knows that I love manatees, which is my goal in life. So, like, you know, that's achieved. So when that happened, a bunch of people were, you know, like sharing it on my Facebook and on instagram a lot stuff like

Amber Williams:   31:54
like the man these are endangered

Kendra Clark:   31:55
anymore. And I'm like, OK, guys, slow your roll. S 01 of the biggest factors in getting their status downgraded was through, um, lobbyist efforts. Um, one of those groups is called Save Crystal River. Sounds really nice, right? New. So

Amber Williams:   32:17
those are the

Kendra Clark:   32:18
people who want thio? Yeah, have their boat speeds increase. They can grab their boats real fast and, you know, have more houses built and that kind of thing, which, um my whole thing about that is, you know, there are a lot of places that humans can live, and there are only a few places where

Amber Williams:   32:36
manatees can live. So maybe go

Kendra Clark:   32:38
drive your boat somewhere. Oh, it's like you know what I mean? Like, I'm so those people kind of think that all of this has hurt their town and that they you know, they can't do the things they want to do because of the manatee. So and I think that's a very short sighted weight of view things and that we need to try to live together in harmony except for the river, is the organization that originally petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service is to relook at the classification. Technically, they don't meet the standards for being endangered anymore to be endangered. That means that you've had a 50 to 70% population decline. It has to be less than 2500 mature individuals and at least a 20% chance of extinction within 20 years. So because of the Manti population has been growing and is a good bit above the 2500. They are considered in a dream, or one thing that Fish Wildlife Service's did when they removed them from the endangered list was they kept those protections in place. Even though they are not the same classification, they still have those protections, and so the population has kind of maintained at a steady level since 2017 which tells him because that there was an article when they were talking about how manatees are kind of like a conservation success

Amber Williams:   34:02
story. Did you do

Kendra Clark:   34:03
see a lot of cases where there are efforts to save a particular species and they're not very successful, But, you know, manatees are actually doing grill. Well, I

Amber Williams:   34:15
think a large

Kendra Clark:   34:16
part of that is because they do bring in a lot of money.

Amber Williams:   34:19
This'll just

Kendra Clark:   34:21
This is just a kid or theory. This is not like it. But, I mean, obviously, if you have people who are profiting off of it, then they're going to be in favor of keeping them around. Where if it's an animal that, like some weird salamander or something that nobody's ever heard of, like nobody's profiting off that. You know

Amber Williams:   34:41
what I think the house under Salome Anderson in North Carolina? Yeah. Yeah. No, I know what happened to them. See, I'm proving their point. I don't care, because they're not Q and its economy. And they're so cute. There's a cute we're not talking about. Yeah, get out

Kendra Clark:   34:59
there and use the salamander. After saying like they're not cute. They're not, like cuddly,

Amber Williams:   35:05
I think. Okay, Yeah. Uh, but more than anything,

Kendra Clark:   35:13
um, people aren't profiting off them. And so if you can tie that animal to your economy. I think that's definitely a way that you're going to get more support for people who typically wouldn't support it. So I think that's one of the benefits it has over a lot of other animals. And with that, um, So Katie, people want to do things to help with the manatees. Help save them. What can they do? Okay, you can listen to

Amber Williams:   35:42
this podcast. So you did that good job like matters. So you can, um, something fun you

Kendra Clark:   35:50
could dio is you can adopt a manatee. Vv save the manatee dot org's web site. You can pick out a cute little manatee. You can choose it by its name and its age, and it's sex and even where it lives, Um, and you can go visit them, you know, at no additional cost. You could just go to the park and be like, I'm looking for Herb the manatee or whatever, and I'll help you find him. Um, so, yeah, with that, you'll get a, um, full color photo a, um, adoption certificate and a biography of a real endangered Florida manatee, a membership handbook and a personalized newsletter with information on your manatee. I did this, and I think

Amber Williams:   36:37
that my time fairly didn't do a very good job. Saving your money

Kendra Clark:   36:48
to adopt a manatee goes towards them. And they're really

Amber Williams:   36:51
great group that does a lot of communities. Okay, ruin that. But I really do think, died. His name was squeaky and he was a speech. Humanity, and yeah, there they could never find. Oh, a satellite tracker and a good uncle. But they just couldn't,

Kendra Clark:   37:16
you know, he was a small manatees obey humanity.

Amber Williams:   37:20
Okay, so you can't do that butchering them just straight up treatment. Okay. What? You can do this in

Kendra Clark:   37:30
your everyday life if you want to, you know, protect the manatees you like I said, you need to stay away from them. Stil. Stay away from them. If you're a human, you can wear polarized sunglasses to help you see them better under the water so you don't hit them with your boats. When you fast. Yeah, You can observe the signs that indicate that you are entering a manatee sanctuary and the speed limits that have been set properly. Discard your fishing lines and hooks. Recycle your trash accordingly, and you can look at that manages all you want, but do not touch them. Touch them, Don't touch them even though dude, man, if he's gonna want to touch you because, like you know the story that you have with your mom When I was swimming with them the next day after we after we swam with them, we just went, um, kayaking

Amber Williams:   38:20
does. Manatee was legit trying to get in this girl's car like his flippers up on her kayak and was sticking its face out of

Kendra Clark:   38:28
the water. And I was like, I wish that was me. So I think that's all we have for today. If you want to learn more, you can find us on Facebook at why blank matters or on Twitter and Instagram at Why underscore Underscore matters. And if you want to find cat and learn more about her, you confined her at un cool cat. That's like, you know, un cool and then cat with Kay. And that's on Instagram. Yeah, right, that's 1,000,000 scream handle. If you wanna talk more about, you know, like manatees with me. I've actually made some friends on Instagram just because we like manatees. I've never met them,

Amber Williams:   39:07
uh, fun. So, yeah,

Kendra Clark:   39:11
we can talk about that. Um, and yeah. And so I also go by Katie. Which is why sometimes Amber and Kendra have called me Katie, but it's confusing. It's fine. Well, thanks for

Amber Williams:   39:26
joining us. And

Kendra Clark:   39:27
we will see you

Amber Williams:   39:27
next week, CIA.