Florida manatees face ongoing threats from boat strikes and harmful algae blooms, with speed zones and habitat protection driving gradual population recovery.
Manatees struck by boat propellers experience acute trauma - propeller wounds cause severe lacerations, bone fractures, and massive tissue damage. Chronic propeller scars indicate healed injuries that indicate previous near-fatal strikes. Beyond acute trauma, manatees displaced from seagrass feeding areas by boat traffic suffer nutritional stress. The 2020-21 starvation crisis, driven by seagrass loss from water quality issues, caused prolonged suffering in thousands of animals before or after death. Both strike prevention and habitat quality are essential for manatee welfare.