Manatee Appreciation Day

Manatee Appreciation is celebrated every last Wednesday of March. They are herbivorous and also known as sea cow, and have no natural enemy. They are very vulnerable and endangered species.

Twitter Hashtags:

#ManateeAppreciationDay

Related: Other National Days Celebrated on March:

National Corn Dog Day

Daylight Saving Time

National Farm Rescuer Day

Why Manatee Appreciation Day?

How can you not appreciate their beautiful grey color and pretty, long whiskers? There are three species of manatees named West Indian Manatee, West African Manatee, and Amazonian Manatee. All these species have nails on their flippers except for the Amazonian Manatee. You won’t be able to differentiate between the West Indian Manatee and West African Manatee, but those of West Indian species have flatter snouts. Amazonian Manatees are found in the freshwater of the Amazon river basin in the northern part of South America.

The two subspecies of West Indian Manatees are Florida Manatees and Antillean Manatees. If you wish to watch Florida Manatees, you need to go to the Caribbean and coast of Florida in the direction of North Carolina. They are present in both seawater as well as freshwater. West African Manatees are found on the West African coastline, and they break their rule of vegetarianism and have fish sometimes. The most amazing thing about Manatees is that they can fill 90 % oxygen in their lungs just by coming for only 20 minutes on the surface.

You should appreciate them because they are vegan or vegetarian. They eat many plants which are 15 % of their weight every day. They are also great swimmers, and they can swim the waters of 15 miles in just an hour by taking short breaks in between. Suppose you are thinking about how a single person’s celebration of Manatee Appreciation Day will bring about a change. In that case, you should know that their population increased due to awareness. This increase was seen in the Florida manatees, which are the subspecies of West Indian manatees.

Hence, it is not about just having fun and catching up with other friends who appreciate manatee too. It would help if you were focusing upon the effective ways that can create a conducive environment for manatees. If we all are successful in doing so, their population will increase, and even the future generations can witness these pretty creatures.

Its celebration’s major aim is to stop their display in the zoos and let them be in their natural habitat. That is how they can increase their species. We need to spread awareness about not eating or killing them. Else it won’t take much time for them to be extinct, and then there will be no point in regretting it. It is necessary to respect their freedom and show them the best of our kindness, goodness, and care. That is only how we all can together secure gorgeous Manatees.

They have done no wrong to us, and we sometimes don’t intend to harm them, but we do so through various recreational activities. These water activities include water sports, boating, and water pollution. They are mostly seen in the coastal area, rivers, canals, bays of saltwater, and estuaries. They spend their major time eating, sleeping, and traveling.  We need to do so only where they are not present, and so they can gain good survival full of oxygen.

How can we observe Manatee Appreciation Day?

• Spread awareness about their beauty

As you know that there are only three species of manatees across the globe; therefore, it is important to let others know about it. Their selfish desires are not worth the beauty of the manatees. So it would help if you spread awareness about maintaining an environment that will not make them extinct.

• Please don’t eat them

Manatees are very pretty and an integral part of our ecosystem. They are very low in numbers, and hence they are should not be eaten. A few years back, they were also announced as an endangered species. There are many things for us to eat, and hence manatees should be left to breed and roam around in the forests or sanctuaries.

• Don’t kill them.

It would help if you did not kill them for your benefit. Though it is illegal to harm them as they are on the verge of extinction, they are killed and never reported. You can let your dear ones know about it by posting it on social media with the hashtags such as #manateeappreciationday, #appreciatemanatee.

Interesting Facts on Manatee Appreciation Day:

1. Those who appreciate manatee believed that the manatees were sexy-looking mermaids.
2. There are only three different species of manatees all around the globe.
3. They are vegetarian or even sometimes vegan.
4. Though they look very similar to seals or walruses, their close relatives are elephants and hyrax.
5. The population of manatees is coming back in Florida, and their conservation status has been updated from ‘endangered’ to ‘threatened.’

History of Manatee Appreciation Day:

A club named Save The Manatee was found in the year 1981 by Jimmy Buffet. This holiday was declared after they started spreading awareness to save and protect cute manatees. They also encouraged people to behave in a manner by considering the plight of being extinct of manatees.