The first time I saw a manatee was back in February 2013, while shooting a war film with documentary filmmaker, journalist and manatee activist Rick Wood on the shore of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. It’s the most biodiverse estuary in all of North America, according to Wood. The lagoon occupies more than 30 percent of Florida’s east coast — extending 156 miles from Ponce De Leon Inlet in the Mosquito Lagoon, which is about 50 miles from Orlando, to the Jupiter Inlet near West Palm Beach.
It was 98 degrees and the crew was frying, so in desperation, James Lane, lead production assistant and audio tech expert, jumped into the lagoon to cool off. Next thing we knew, three large grey animals swam toward him in the water. We were worried that they might be fresh-water sharks. Lane immediately started to swim toward shore as we frantically screamed for him to come back.
However, he didn’t make it to the shore before the creatures reached him. With our hearts in our throats, we finally saw the creatures that surrounded our crew member. The animals turned out to be three manatees, one mother and two babies. These huge creatures showed nothing but kindness toward us. The manatees, which are naturally curious animals, gently bumped Lane with their heads before swimming toward the rest of us on the beach.
In 2010, the West Indian Manatees, the species of manatee that inhabits Florida, were set to be taken off the endangered species list. However, Katie Tripp, director of science and conservation of “Save the Manatee Club” said a cold snap in 2010 marked the beginning of what experts call the manatee die off.
According to Tripp, temperatures below 68 degrees in the Florida waterways killed many manatees.
Algae blooms have been killing off sea grass, manatees’ primary food source. The algae kills sea grass by consuming oxygen in the water and cutting off sunlight to the sea grass. Another killer of sea grass is boat traffic. Even if the boat is 12 inches above the sea grass, it will still damage it.
Lesley Vincent Ryder, education coordinator for the Manatee Observation and Education Center in Fort Pierce, said that last year, half of the sea grass in the Indian River Lagoon died. Once these plants are dead, it takes years for them to grow back, time that the manatees don’t have.
Boat traffic is also highly dangerous to manatees. On average, 100 Florida manatees are killed each year after being hit by boats. Wood said fishermen often believe that manatees can swim under oncoming boats. However, these boats move too quickly for a manatee to avoid, and most Florida rivers are shallow, leaving, on average, only two feet between a boat and the river bed. Manatees, who weight hundreds of pounds, can’t possibly fit in this tiny space. With all of these dangers, manatees continue to die.
According to Wood, more massive algae blooms are also being created by runoff from high-nitrate fertilizers. Other chemicals are winding up in Florida waterways, rivers, beaches and lakes due to the run off from the increasing number of active rainstorms in Florida that are adding to the pollution.
Ryder said this is a problem because the West Indian Manatee can’t survive anywhere else in the U.S. Florida has the warmest water on the east coast. If water temperature is at or below 68 degrees, manatees can get hypothermia and die. Wood said it’s essential that we keep our waterways clear of pollution and toxins.
Red tide and brown tide also contribute to manatee deaths. According to Tripp, Red tide is an outbreak of a natural chemical that occurs every year and makes the water red. This chemical is toxic to manatees because it seeps into the sea grass and poisons it. When manatees eat the infected grass, they have seizures that cause them to drown.
Red tide is a natural occurrence. However, last year, it lasted longer than it normal and killed more than 200 manatees, a record. Tripp said no one knows why the red tide lasted so long or why it was so devastating to manatees.
Brown tide is also a naturally occurring event in Florida’s rivers that, as may be obvious by its name, makes the water brown. However, unlike red tide, brown tide kills the sea grass.
Last year marked the highest manatee mortality rate ever in Florida. Wood said that 732 manatees have died as of September 2013 and this problem not only affects manatees, but humans as well.
“Everything is interrelated,” Wood said. “Manatees are nature’s lawnmowers. Without them, sea grass beds would degrade. Without healthy sea grass, there’s no place for young fish to develop safely. A vacuum created by the extinction of the manatee would shatter the whole ecosystem.”
The Indian River Lagoon is home to many fresh water animals, including dolphins, eels and sharks. If the manatee dies, then the lagoon dies along with it.
“Can you imagine Florida if the Indian River Lagoon was a dead zone? No commercial fishing. No sport fishing, no marine mammals — just slimy water,” Wood said.
