Editing Manatee (section)

===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>