Florida manatees face ongoing threats from boat propeller strikes, red tide algal blooms, and cold stress. Conservation programs combining speed zones, rescue, and rehabilitation have driven partial population recovery.
Manatees struck by boat propellers suffer severe lacerations that frequently require extended veterinary care and may be fatal. Cold-stunned manatees experience a physiological crisis that causes paralysis, organ failure, and drowning if not rescued quickly. Red tide poisoning causes neurological symptoms before death. The welfare significance of these threats is amplified by manatee behavioral characteristics — slow movement, surface-breathing, and use of shallow warm water near human development — that make them disproportionately vulnerable to human activities.