Manatees

Children's Literature

As part of the "Returning Wildlife" series, this book details the history of the manatee and the struggle the species has had to survive. The manatee has lived on earth for at least sixty million years. It does not have any natural predator, but man has hunted it since 8500 B.C. and has been careless in preserving its natural habitat. This naturally playful and gentle giant (weighing up to twelve hundred pounds) is a victim to man's carelessness. Poaching, boating accidents, polluted waters, excessive housing development, and flood-control gates have been the leading cause to the manatee endangerment. Although a number of manatee hunting laws were enforced in the late 1800s, the most effective means of protecting these creatures occurred in the 1970s when the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the U. S. Endangered Species Act were passed. These acts made it a federal crime to hunt or pursue any marine mammal or import or export any product of a manatee. Additionally, Florida (home to one of the manatee subspecies) has declared the manatee its official marine mammal and created many refuge and sanctuary programs for the creature. Readers will learn more about the efforts to protect the manatee as well as organizations seeking public support and funding. The close-up photographs of the manatees will charm any reader and encourage activism. A glossary, resource guide, and index are included in the back of the book. 2003, Kidhaven Press,
— Andrea Sears Andrews