West Indian manatees are large, slow-moving marine mammals whose welfare is severely threatened by boat strikes, cold stress syndrome, and habitat loss across the Americas.
Manatees suffer acutely from boat propeller injuries, which cause deep lacerations and broken bones. Cold stress syndrome causes hypothermia, starvation, and immune suppression. Red tide algal blooms — worsened by agricultural runoff — have killed hundreds of manatees in recent years through toxic exposure and starvation as seagrass dies. Rehabilitation facilities treat injured and cold-stressed manatees, with high success rates when intervention is timely. Boat speed restrictions in manatee zones have measurably reduced mortality but face pushback from boating interests.