RESEARCH AND PROTECT MANATEES

Manatees are gentle, slow-moving marine mammals whose time may be running out. Since record-keeping began in 1974, almost 1,400 manatees have been killed by boaters. That leaves between just 2,000-3,000 manatees in the wild. Almost all manatees have been scarred by encounters with propellers, and the number of deaths increases each year.

Yet after more than 30 years of endangered status, many of the protections for manatees were recently removed. The result could be a loss of half of the remaining manatee population over the upcoming years.

A manatee's natural lifespan is about 60 years, but recent research found that most manatees today die before they are 10 years old. Unless strong actions are taken to limit motorized boats and development in coastal areas, this species of marine mammal is not expected to recover within 100 years.

Several organizations and researchers are working to help manatees survive by studying their needs and assessing what must be done to save them. By spending your next vacation helping to study manatees, you can do your part to give these gentle giants a lasting future.

• EarthWatch Institute coordinates two-week expeditions to study the behavior and habitat requirements of manatees in Belize, and to assess the growing impact of human activities on them. Volunteers spend most days in a small boat conducting manatee surveys as well as collecting environmental data.
• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute seeks volunteers and interns to assist in the Manatee Behavioral Ecology Program, which aims to study how manatees respond to watercraft by using digital acoustic recording tags and GPS technology.
• A manatee research and conservation project offered through i-to-i focuses on studying manatees on the coast of Honduras, where 10 percent of the world's manatees are thought to reside. There is a four-week minimum stay on this project.
• Another opportunity in Belize is through Global Vision International, which focuses on caring for orphaned manatees there. This manatee volunteer vacation has a minimum duration of two months.
• If you live along a river, estuary, canal or coastal area in Florida, you can help provide valuable information to researchers who are tracking manatees. Save the Manatee Club has a sighting network to collect information, as well as other opportunities to volunteer.
• The Manatee Observation and Education Center in Fort Pierce, Fla., has a wide range of volunteer opportunities available, including guides, special events assistants and grants writers.