Lettuce celebrate: Fun facts for Manatee Appreciation Day

Manatee Appreciation Day is soon upon us and what better way to celebrate than to educate yourself about these adorable sea cows.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Trichechus manatus latirostris – of the Florida manatee – is listed as threatened by the federal government, being downgraded from endangered in 2017.

In February, Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Blue Spring State Park here he proposed $330 million for water quality projects that included $9.5 million dedicated to manatee rescue and rehabilitation protection programs.

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Manatee Appreciation Day is March 27, so let’s get down to some cold, hard facts about these squishy mammals.

• The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee and is native to the state
• Adult manatees are typically 9-10 feet long from snout to tail, but can grow to over 13-feet long and weigh more than 3,500 pounds
• At birth, a manatee calf weighs around 60 - 70 pounds
• On Jan. 21, nearly a 1,000 manatees were counted at the spring Sunday, breaking the New Year’s Day record of 736

• The West Indian manatee is related to the African manatee, the Amazonian manatee, the dugong, and Steller’s sea cow, which was hunted to extinction in 1768
• There are about 6,250 manatees in Florida’s waters
• Florida manatees can be found in the Sunshine State, Alabama and Georgia, but on very rare occasions they been seen as far north as Massachusetts, but they need warm water to survive, so when it’s cold they head to Florida’s springs
• According to the Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, manatees were once thought to be mermaids by early sailors, including Christopher Columbus, who described the “mermaids” as less beautiful than he imagined with masculine faces
• The manatees closest living relative is the elephant
• The U.S. Postal Service is set to commemorate the new Save Manatees postage stamp on Manatee Appreciation Day

• Manatees spend most of their waking hours eating, consuming 5 to 10 percent of their body weight in greenery every day
• Citrus County is known as the “Manatee Capital of the World,” and it is one of the only places in Florida where you can swim with the sea cows
• Manatees have the smallest brain in relation to their body size of all mammals
• They generally swim at a rate of 3 to 5 MPH, slower than a Roomba vacuum cleaner

Did you know that you can adopt a manatee – symbolically of course. Friends of Blue Spring State Park partnered with Save the Manatee Club to offer the chance to adopt a sea cow of your very own.

Their website features a list of manatees to choose from along with a brief description and history of the animal.