Manatee fish and game

Report Issues Report fish kills, wildlife emergencies, sightings, etc. Go Outdoors Florida! What should you do when you see a manatee? Guidelines for Viewing Manatees. Also, don't feed manatees or give them water. If manatees become accustomed to being around people, they can alter their behavior in the wild, perhaps causing them to lose their natural fear of boats and humans, which may make them more susceptible to harm.

Do not pursue or chase a manatee if you see one while you are swimming, snorkeling, diving, paddling or operating a boat. Never poke, prod or stab a manatee with your hands, feet or any object. If a manatee avoids you, do not chase the animal for a closer view.

Give manatees space to move. Avoid isolating or singling out an individual manatee from its group and do not separate a cow and her calf. Keep hands and objects to yourself. The slow-moving, round-tailed mammals have rebounded enough to list them as a threatened species rather than endangered, although a push is on to restore the endangered tag given the starvation deaths.

People can report any manatee they see that might be distressed by calling a wildlife hotline at Other ways to help are donating money through a state-sponsored fund or purchasing a Save the Manatee vehicle license plate. People and manatees have struggled to coexist for decades. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Miami News. Florida Manatee Feeding Experiment Starts Slowly As Cold Looms As cold weather drives manatees in Florida toward warmer waters, wildlife officials expressed optimism that an experimental attempt to feed manatees facing starvation will work.

Miami Sports. On the heels of Manatee Appreciation Day, the U. Department of the Interior announced the downlisting of the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened.

Notable increases in manatee populations and improvements in its habitat allowed the U. The downlisting comes after diverse conservation efforts and collaborations by Florida and other manatee states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Caribbean nations, public and private organizations and citizens, there have been notable increases in manatee populations and improvements in its habitat.