Editing Manatee (section)

==Relation to humans==
{{Main|Manatee conservation}}

===Threats===
[[File:Manatee - Blue Spring State Park.JPG|thumb|alt=Photo of manatee next to kayak|Young manatees can be curious; this individual is inspecting a [[kayak]].]]

The main causes of death for manatees are human-related issues, such as habitat destruction and human objects. Natural causes of death include adverse temperatures, predation by crocodiles on young, and disease.<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal|last1=Luiselli|first1=L.|last2=Akani|first2=G.C.|last3=Ebere|first3=N.|last4=Angelici|first4=F. M.|last5=Amori|first5=G.|last6=Politano|first6=E.|date=2012|title=Macro-habitat preferences by the African manatee and crocodiles – ecological and conservation implications|journal=Web Ecology|volume=12|issue=1|pages=39–48|doi=10.5194/we-12-39-2012|doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Ship strikes====
Their slow-moving, curious nature, coupled with dense coastal development, has led to many violent collisions with propeller-driven boats and ships, leading frequently to maiming, disfigurement, and even death. As a result, a large proportion of manatees exhibit spiral cutting propeller scars on their backs, usually caused by larger vessels that do not have [[skeg]]s in front of the propellers like the smaller outboard and inboard-outboard recreational boats have. They are now even identified by humans based on their scar patterns. Many manatees have been cut in two by large vessels like ships and tug boats, even in the highly populated lower St. Johns River's narrow channels. Some are concerned that the current situation is inhumane, with upwards of 50 scars and disfigurements from vessel strikes on a single manatee.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081007102448/http://www.cdnn.info/news/eco/e060111.html Florida boaters killing endangered manatees]. Cyber Diver News Network. 11 January 2006</ref> Often, the lacerations lead to infections, which can prove fatal. Internal injuries stemming from being trapped between hulls and docks and impacts have also been fatal. Recent testing{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} shows that manatees may be able to hear speed boats and other watercraft approaching, due to the frequency the boat makes. However, a manatee may not be able to hear the approaching boats when they are performing day-to-day activities or distractions. The manatee has a tested frequency range of 8 to 32 kilohertz.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1242/jeb.065649|title = Audiogram and auditory critical ratios of two Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)|year = 2012|last1 = Gaspard|first1 = Joseph C.|last2 = Bauer|first2 = Gordon B.|last3 = Reep|first3 = Roger L.|last4 = Dziuk|first4 = Kimberly|last5 = Cardwell|first5 = Adrienne|last6 = Read|first6 = Latoshia|last7 = Mann|first7 = David A.|journal = Journal of Experimental Biology|volume = 215|issue = 9|pages = 1442–1447|pmid = 22496279|s2cid = 11725126|doi-access = free| bibcode=2012JExpB.215.1442G }}</ref>

Manatees hear on a higher frequency than would be expected for such large marine mammals. Many large boats emit very low frequencies, which confuse the manatee and explain their lack of awareness around boats. The [[Lloyd's mirror#Underwater acoustics|Lloyd's mirror]] effect results in low frequency propeller sounds not being discernible near the surface, where most accidents occur. Research indicates that when a boat has a higher frequency the manatees rapidly swim away from danger.<ref>[http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19990629210228data_trunc_sys.shtml Manatees hard of hearing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928150106/http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19990629210228data_trunc_sys.shtml |date=2011-09-28 }}. Scienceagogo.com (1999-07-30). Retrieved on 2011-12-03.</ref>

In 2003, a population model was released by the [[United States Geological Survey]] that predicted an extremely grave situation confronting the manatee in both the Southwest and Atlantic regions where the vast majority of manatees are found. It states,
{{blockquote|In the absence of any new management action, that is, if boat mortality rates continue to increase at the rates observed since 1992, the situation in the Atlantic and Southwest regions is dire, with no chance of meeting recovery criteria within 100 years.<ref>[http://www.savethemanatee.org/newsprpopulationmodel.htm Long Term Prospects for Manatee Recovery Look Grim, According To New Data Released By Federal Government] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712180614/http://www.savethemanatee.org/newsprpopulationmodel.htm |date=2007-07-12 }}. Savethemanatee.org (2003-04-29). Retrieved on 2011-12-03.</ref> "Hurricanes, cold stress, red tide poisoning and a variety of other maladies threaten manatees, but by far their greatest danger is from watercraft strikes, which account for about a quarter of Florida manatee deaths," said study curator John Jett.<ref name=uf>[http://news.ufl.edu/2007/07/03/manatee-3/ ufl.edu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612180925/http://news.ufl.edu/2007/07/03/manatee-3/ |date=2010-06-12 }}. News.ufl.edu (2007-07-03). Retrieved on 2011-12-03.</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

[[File:Manatee bearing scars on back from boat propeller.jpg|thumb|Manatee bearing scars on its back from a boat propeller.]]

According to marine mammal [[veterinarian]]s:

{{Blockquote|The severity of mutilations for some of these individuals can be astounding – including long term survivors with completely severed tails, major tail mutilations, and multiple disfiguring dorsal lacerations. These injuries not only cause gruesome wounds, but may also impact population processes by reducing calf production (and survival) in wounded females – observations also speak to the likely pain and suffering endured.<ref name=GulDie/> In an example, they cited one case study of a small calf "with a severe dorsal mutilation trailing a decomposing piece of dermis and muscle as it continued to accompany and nurse from its mother&nbsp;... by age 2 its dorsum was grossly deformed and included a large protruding rib fragment visible."<ref name=GulDie/>}}

These veterinarians go on to state:
{{blockquote|[T]he overwhelming documentation of gruesome wounding of manatees leaves no room for denial. Minimization of this injury is ''explicit'' in the Recovery Plan, several state statutes, and federal laws, and ''implicit'' in our society's ethical and moral standards.<ref name=GulDie/>}}

One quarter of annual manatee deaths in Florida are caused by boat collisions with manatees.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Conserving Manatees: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions of Boaters in Tampa Bay, Florida|url = https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01452.x|journal = Conservation Biology|year = 2003|doi = 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01452.x|last1 = Aipanjiguly|first1 = Sampreethi|last2 = Jacobson|first2 = Susan K.|last3 = Flamm|first3 = Richard|volume = 17|issue = 4|pages = 1098–1105| bibcode=2003ConBi..17.1098A |s2cid = 86770081|access-date = 2021-11-26|archive-date = 2021-11-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211126224246/https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01452.x|url-status = dead|url-access = subscription}}</ref> In 2009, of the 429 Florida manatees recorded dead, 97 were killed by commercial and recreational vessels, which broke the earlier record number of 95 set in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/mortality-statistics/|title=Manatee Mortality Statistics|publisher=Fish and Wildlife Research Institute|access-date=1 December 2010|archive-date=1 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401085515/http://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/mortality-statistics|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Manatee Deaths From Boat Strikes Approach Record: Club Asks For Boaters' Urgent Help
 |publisher    = Save the Manatee Club
 |access-date   = 1 May 2010
 |url          = http://www.savethemanatee.org/news_oped_mortality_12-09.html
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110208183450/http://savethemanatee.org/news_oped_mortality_12-09.html
 |archive-date = 2011-02-08
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

====Red tide====
Another cause of manatee deaths are [[red tide]]s, a term used for the proliferation, or "blooms", of the microscopic marine algae ''[[Karenia brevis]]''. This [[dinoflagellate]] produces [[brevetoxin]]s that can have toxic effects on the [[central nervous system]] of animals.<ref>{{cite journal
|title = Brevetoxicosis: Red tides and marine mammal mortalities
|journal = Nature|issue = 7043| pages = 755–756
|date = 9 June 2005
|doi=10.1038/nature435755a
|pmid = 15944690
|last1 = Flewelling
|first1 = LJ
|last2 = Naar
|first2 = JP
|last3 = Abbott
|first3 = JP
|last4 = Baden
|first4 = DG
|last5 = Barros
|first5 = NB
|last6 = Bossart
|first6 = GD
|last7 = Bottein
|first7 = MY
|last8 = Hammond
|first8 = DG
|last9 = Haubold
|first9 = EM
| display-authors = 8
|volume = 435
|pmc = 2659475
|bibcode = 2005Natur.435..755F}}</ref>

In 1996, a red tide was responsible for 151 manatee deaths in Florida.<ref>{{cite news
| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-florida-manatees-idUSBRE9BJ1BQ20131220
| title = Manatee death toll hits record in Florida, 'Red Tide' blamed
| work = Reuters
| access-date = 1 February 2016
| archive-date = 24 September 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180924113313/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-florida-manatees-idUSBRE9BJ1BQ20131220
| url-status = live
}}</ref> The bloom was present from early March to the end of April and killed approximately 15% of the known population of manatees along South Florida's western coast.<ref>{{cite news
|title = Scientists Say Toxin in Red Tide Killed Scores of Manatees
|newspaper = New York Times
|date = July 5, 1996
|access-date = 1 May 2010
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/05/us/scientists-say-toxin-in-red-tide-killed-scores-of-manatees.html?pagewanted=1
|archive-date = 11 May 2013
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130511152402/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/05/us/scientists-say-toxin-in-red-tide-killed-scores-of-manatees.html?pagewanted=1
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Other blooms in 1982 and 2005 resulted in 37 and 44 deaths respectively,<ref>{{cite news
|title = Mystery epidemic killing manatees
|page = 38
|publisher = Local & State
|date = April 9, 1996
|access-date = 1 May 2010
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19960409&id=0B8VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dgcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5443,3325057
|archive-date = 27 August 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210827152057/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19960409&id=0B8VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dgcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5443%2C3325057
|url-status = live
}}</ref> and a red tide killed 123 manatees between November 2022 and June 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Bloom |url=https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/statistics/mortality/2023-bloom/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404153407/https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/statistics/mortality/2023-bloom/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Starvation====
In 2021 a massive die-off of [[seagrass]] along the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[Florida]] left manatees without enough food to eat. As a result of this [[ecological disaster]] Florida's manatees began dying at an alarming rate, largely from [[starvation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Manatees are starving in Florida. Wildlife agencies are scrambling to save them |date=2 Dec 2021 |accessdate=24 Feb 2022 |author=Greg Allen |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/02/1060439776/manatees-starving-seagrass-dying-florida |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224130511/https://www.npr.org/2021/12/02/1060439776/manatees-starving-seagrass-dying-florida |url-status=live }}</ref> In early 2022 the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] began a feeding program to address the situation by distributing 3,000 pounds (1,361&nbsp;kg) of [[lettuce]] per day to save the malnourished animals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Florida wildlife officials are distributing 3,000 pounds of lettuce a day to save starving manatees |date=17 Feb 2022 |author=Amanda Jackson |website=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/us/florida-starving-manatee-feeding-program-trnd-scn/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224183926/https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/us/florida-starving-manatee-feeding-program-trnd-scn/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Additional threats====
Manatees can also be crushed and isolated in water control structures ([[Navigation lock|navigation locks]], [[floodgate]]s, etc.) and are occasionally killed by entanglement in fishing gear, such as [[crab pot]] float lines, box traps, and shark nets.<ref name=iucnWA/>

While humans are allowed to swim with manatees in one area of Florida,<ref>[http://www.savethemanatee.org/ta_harassment.htm Help End Manatee Harassment in Citrus County, Florida!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430191437/http://www.savethemanatee.org/ta_harassment.htm |date=2007-04-30 }}. Savethemanatee.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-03.</ref> there have been numerous charges of people harassing and disturbing the manatees.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/11/Citrus/Manatee_abuse_caught_.shtml St. Petersburg Times – Manatee Abuse Caught on Tape] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601161308/http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/11/Citrus/Manatee_abuse_caught_.shtml |date=2009-06-01 }}. Sptimes.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-03.</ref> According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, approximately 99 manatee deaths each year are related to human activities.<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-monarch-butterflies-manatees-populations-20160229-story.html
| title = Monarch butterfly, manatee populations are on a big rebound
| last = Tribune
| first = Chicago
| website = chicagotribune.com
| date = 29 February 2016
| access-date = 2016-03-01
}}</ref> In January 2016, there were 43 manatee deaths in Florida alone.<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://myfwc.com/media/3401133/January.pdf
| title = January 2016 Preliminary Manatee Mortality Table by County
| date = January 2016
| access-date = February 20, 2016
| archive-date = March 6, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160306043012/http://myfwc.com/media/3401133/January.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

===Conservation===
[[File:Dead manatees circa 1920.png|thumb|Dead manatees hunted from the [[Amazon River]] in Brazil, {{circa}} 1920. Brazil outlawed manatee hunting in 1973.]] 
All three species of manatee are listed by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|World Conservation Union]] as vulnerable to extinction. However, The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)]] does not consider the West Indian manatee to be "endangered" anymore, having downgraded its status to "threatened" as of March 2017. They cite improvements to habitat conditions, population growth and reductions of threats as reasoning for the change. The reclassification was met with controversy, with Florida congressman [[Vern Buchanan]] and groups such as the Save the Manatee Club and the [[Center for Biological Diversity]] expressing concerns that the change would have a detrimental effect on conservation efforts.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wang |first1=Amy B. |title=Manatees are no longer listed as endangered. Should we celebrate or fret? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/03/31/manatees-are-no-longer-listed-as-endangered-should-we-celebrate-or-fret/ |date=March 31, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407031900/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/03/31/manatees-are-no-longer-listed-as-endangered-should-we-celebrate-or-fret/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The new classification will not affect current federal protections.<ref name="fws.gov" /> West Indian manatees were originally classified as endangered with the 1967 class of endangered species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/endangered/class-of-1967/index.html|title=Endangered Species {{!}} Class of 1967|website=www.fws.gov|access-date=2020-01-30|archive-date=2020-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524172900/https://www.fws.gov/endangered/class-of-1967/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Manatee deaths in the state of Florida nearly doubled in 2021 from 637 (2020) to 1100.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION MARINE MAMMAL PATHOBIOLOGY LABORATORY Preliminary 2022 Manatee Mortality Table by County |url=https://myfwc.com/media/28361/preliminary.pdf |access-date=2023-03-24 |archive-date=2023-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324235638/https://myfwc.com/media/28361/preliminary.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Although this number decreased to 800 in 2022, it is likely that current rate of development in Florida, climate change, and decreasing water quality, habitat range, and genetic diversity among this population may lead to reconsideration of the West Indian Manatee as an endangered species.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones Jr. |first=Robert C. |date=February 2, 2022 |title=NO LONGER ENDANGERED, MANATEES NOW FACE ANOTHER CRISIS |url=https://news.miami.edu/stories/2022/02/no-longer-endangered,-manatees-now-face-another-crisis.html |access-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324235643/https://news.miami.edu/stories/2022/02/no-longer-endangered,-manatees-now-face-another-crisis.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Manatee population in the United States reached a low in the 1970s, during which only a few hundred individuals lived in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Manatee reclassified from endangered to threatened as habitat improves and population expands - existing federal protections remain in place |url=https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2017/03/manatee-reclassified-from-endangered-to-threatened-as-habitat-improves-and-population-expands-existing-federal-protections-remain-in-place/ |website=Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=2020-04-07 |archive-date=2020-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529193212/https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2017/03/manatee-reclassified-from-endangered-to-threatened-as-habitat-improves-and-population-expands-existing-federal-protections-remain-in-place/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of February 2016, 6,250 manatees were reported swimming in Florida's springs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/record-breaking-number-of-manatees-counted-during-annual-winter-survey/2266821|title=Record-breaking number of manatees counted during annual winter survey|website=Tampa Bay Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305181336/http://home.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/record-breaking-number-of-manatees-counted-during-annual-winter-survey/2266821|archive-date=2016-03-05|access-date=2016-03-01}}</ref> It is illegal under federal and Florida law to injure or harm a manatee.

There are many conservation programs that have been created to help manatees. [[Save the Manatee Club]] is a non-profit group and membership organization that works to protect manatees and their aquatic ecosystems.  Founded by [[Bob Graham]], former Florida governor, and singer/songwriter [[Jimmy Buffett]], this is today's leading manatee conservation club.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Save The Manatees|url=https://www.savethemanatee.org/|website=Save The Manatees|access-date=2021-11-23|archive-date=2021-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123234552/https://www.savethemanatee.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=March 2022}}

The [[MV Freedom Star|MV ''Freedom Star'']] and [[MV Liberty Star|MV ''Liberty Star'']], ships used by [[NASA]] to tow [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]s back to [[Kennedy Space Center]], were propelled only by water jets to protect the endangered manatee population that inhabits regions of the [[Banana River]] where the ships are based.

Brazil outlawed hunting in 1973 in an effort to preserve the species. Deaths by boat strikes are still common.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|last=Fairclough|first=Caty|title=From Mermaids to Manatees: the Myth and the Reality {{!}} Smithsonian Ocean|url=http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/mermaids-manatees-myth-and-reality|access-date=2021-12-24|website=ocean.si.edu|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=New Study Shows Impact of Watercraft on Manatees|url=https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/publication/|access-date=2021-12-24|website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224060223/https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/publication/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although countries are protecting Amazonian manatees in the locations where they are endangered, as of 1994 there were no enforced laws, and the manatees were still being captured throughout their range.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Weber Rosas |first1= F.C. |date= June 1994 |title= Biology, conservation, and status of the Amazonian Manatee ''Trichechus inunguis'' |journal= Mammal Review |volume= 24 |issue= 2 |pages= 49–59 |doi= 10.1111/j.1365-2907.1994.tb00134.x|bibcode= 1994MamRv..24...49R }}</ref>

===Captivity===
[[File:Manatee at Sea World Orlando Mar 10.JPG|thumb|A manatee at SeaWorld, Florida|alt=Underwater photo of manatee]]
There are a number of manatee rehabilitation centers in the United States. These include three government-run critical care facilities in Florida at [[Lowry Park Zoo]], [[Miami Seaquarium]], and [[SeaWorld Orlando]]. After initial treatment at these facilities, the manatees are transferred to rehabilitation facilities before release. These include the [[Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden]], [[Columbus Zoo and Aquarium]], [[Epcot]]'s The Seas, [[South Florida Museum]], and [[Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Manatee/Rescue-Rehab/manatee-rescue-rehab.htm | title=Manatee Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release Program | access-date=2016-12-31 | archive-date=2017-01-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101161314/https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Manatee/Rescue-Rehab/manatee-rescue-rehab.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Columbus Zoo was a founding member of the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership in 2001. Since 1999, the zoo's Manatee Bay facility has helped rehabilitate 20 manatees.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://globalimpact.columbuszoo.org/projects/project/manatee-rehab-in-the-united-states | title=Global Impact - Project | access-date=2016-12-31 | archive-date=2015-09-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905202334/https://globalimpact.columbuszoo.org/projects/project/manatee-rehab-in-the-united-states | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Cincinnati Zoo has rehabilitated and released more than a dozen manatees since 1999.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cincinnatizoo.org/rescue-rehabilitation-and-release-of-florida-manatees/ | title=Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release of Florida Manatees | access-date=2016-12-31 | archive-date=2017-01-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101093235/http://cincinnatizoo.org/rescue-rehabilitation-and-release-of-florida-manatees/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Manatees can also be viewed in a number of European zoos, such as the [[Tierpark Berlin]] and the [[Nuremberg Zoo]] in Germany, in [[ZooParc de Beauval]] in France, the [[Aquarium of Genoa]] in Italy and the [[Royal Burgers' Zoo]] in Arnhem, the Netherlands, where manatees have parented offspring.<ref>{{cite news|title= Adventure in the mangrove forest|url= https://www.burgerszoo.com/eco-display/mangrove|access-date= 2021-06-11|archive-date= 2021-06-11|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210611145658/https://www.burgerszoo.com/eco-display/mangrove|url-status= live}}</ref> The [[River Safari]] at [[Singapore]] features seven of them.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/manatees-move-worlds-largest-freshwater-aquarium-river-safari-20130313 |title= Manatees move into world's largest freshwater aquarium at River Safari |newspaper= The Straits Times |date= 13 March 2013 |access-date= 2013-07-24 |last1= Tan |first1= Sue-Ann |archive-date= 2013-05-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130519124453/http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/manatees-move-worlds-largest-freshwater-aquarium-river-safari-20130313 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The oldest manatee in captivity was [[Snooty]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Aronson|first1=Claire|title=Guinness World Records names Snooty of Bradenton as 'Oldest Manatee in Captivity'|url=http://www.bradenton.com/2015/06/26/5867910/guinness-world-records-names-snooty.html|website=bradenton.com|publisher=Bradenton Herald|access-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628231038/http://www.bradenton.com/2015/06/26/5867910/guinness-world-records-names-snooty.html|archive-date=28 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> at the [[South Florida Museum]]'s Parker Manatee Aquarium in [[Bradenton, Florida]]. Born at the Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company on July 21, 1948, Snooty was one of the first recorded captive manatee births. Raised entirely in captivity, Snooty was never to be released into the wild. As such he was the only manatee at the aquarium, and one of only a few captive manatees in the United States that was allowed to interact with human handlers. That made him uniquely suitable for manatee research and education.<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Snooty the Manatee|publisher= South Florida Museum |isbn= 978-1-56944-441-2}}</ref>

Snooty died suddenly two days after his 69th birthday, July 23, 2017, when he was found in an underwater area only used to access plumbing for the exhibit life support system. The South Florida Museum's initial press release stated, “Early indications are that an access panel door that is normally bolted shut had somehow been knocked loose and that Snooty was able to swim in.”<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/south-florida-museum-mourns-death-snooty-worlds-oldest-manatee/ | title = Oldest living manatee in captivity dies a day after celebrating 69th birthday | date = 23 July 2017 | access-date = 2017-07-23 | archive-date = 2017-07-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170723200142/http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/south-florida-museum-mourns-death-snooty-worlds-oldest-manatee/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

==== Guyana ====

Since the 19th century, [[Georgetown, Guyana]] has kept [[West Indian manatee]]s in [[Guyana Botanical Gardens|its botanical garden]], and later, [[Guyana National Park|its national park]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Abary Creek manatees under threat |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2008/09/30/news/guyana/abary-creek-manatees-under-threat/ |work=Stabroek News |date=30 September 2008 |quote=there are 23 manatees [...] between the Botanical Gardens and the National Park. They have been there for more than 129 years, and reports are that they came from the [[Abary Creek]]. |access-date=16 June 2020 }}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
In the 1910s and again in the 1950s, [[sugar estate]]s in Guyana used manatees to keep their irrigation canals weed-free.<ref>{{cite book|author=National Science Research Council (Guyana).|title=An International Centre for Manatee Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qz4rAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA13|year=1974|publisher=National Academies|location=Georgetown, Guyana|page=13}}</ref>
Between the 1950s and 1970s, the Georgetown [[water treatment plant]] used manatees in their storage canals for the same purpose.<ref>{{cite book|author=National Research Council|title=Making Aquatic Weeds Useful|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pG-8h6JufaEC&pg=PA35|year=2002|publisher=The Minerva Group|isbn=978-0-89499-180-6|page=35|quote= In the Georgetown Water and Sewerage Works, two manatees [...] were introduced in 1952 to a canal [...] In the 24 years since then, manatees have been used to keep this water (the city's municipal supply) weed-free.}}</ref>

===Culture===
[[File:Milwaukee Public Museum November 2022 101 (Manatee at Blue Springs, Florida).jpg|thumb|left|The ''Manatee at Blue Springs, Florida'' diorama at the [[Milwaukee Public Museum]]]]

The manatee has been linked to folklore on [[mermaid]]s.<ref name="auto"/> In [[West Africa]]n folklore, they were considered sacred and thought to have been once human. Killing one was [[taboo]] and required penance.<ref name = "Cooper92">{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=JC |title=Symbolic and Mythological Animals |page=157 |year=1992 |publisher= Aquarian Press |location=London |isbn=1-85538-118-4}}</ref> In the cosmogony of the [[Serer people]] of Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania, the cayman and the manatee holds great significance in [[Serer creation myth|Serer mytholody]]. The cayman is believed to hold the secrets of the past whilst the manatee holds the secrets of the future.<ref>Senghor, Léopold Sédar, "Chants d'ombre" [in] "Selected poems of LEOPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR", CUP Archive, pp. 103, 125</ref>

In the novel ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', [[Herman Melville]] distinguishes manatees ("Lamatins", cf. ''[[wikt:lamantin|lama{{strong|n}}tins]]'') from small whales; stating, "I am aware that down to the present time, the fish styled Lamatins and [[Dugong]]s (Pig-fish and Sow-fish of the [[Coffin (whaling family)|Coffins of Nantucket)]] are included by many naturalists among the whales. But as these pig-fish are a noisy, contemptible set, mostly lurking in the mouths of rivers, and feeding on wet hay, and especially as they do not spout, I deny their credentials as whales; and have presented them with their passports to quit the Kingdom of [[Cetology]]."<ref>{{cite book|last=Melville|first=Herman|title=Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mobydickorwhale01melv|publisher=Richard Bentley|chapter=Footnote, Chapter 32 - Cetology|year=1851}}</ref>

A manatee called Wardell appears in the [[Animal Crossing: New Horizons]] video game. He is part of a paid [[downloadable content | downloadable content expansion]], managing and selling furniture to the player.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fahey |first1=Mike |title=Animal Crossing Fans Are Deeply In Love With Wardell The Manatee |url=https://kotaku.com/animal-crossing-fans-are-deeply-in-love-with-wardell-th-1847886641 |website=Kotaku |date=18 October 2021 |publisher=G/O Media |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027021018/https://kotaku.com/animal-crossing-fans-are-deeply-in-love-with-wardell-th-1847886641 |archive-date=27 October 2021}}</ref>

In [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''The White Seal'' (one of the stories in ''[[The Jungle Book]]''), Sea Cow, about whom the story says that he has only six cervical vertebrae, is a manatee.