Also known as “sea cows” manatees are an animal familiar to most. Since 1972, these gentle creatures have been classified as endangered. Many environmental factors such as cold winters and the fact it takes a calf a whole year to reach adulthood have attributed to this, but the main factors are their human interactions. Due to the fact they share the same shallow waters as boats, they are often struck and killed by the propellers as they swim through the water. The large boats have difficulty spotting the manatees, often in pods, killing them in large numbers.

“It’s taken eight years and two lawsuits to get the government to follow up on its own experts’ recommendation to re-classify the manatees,” said Christina Martin, a Pacific Legal Foundation attorney.

However as of January 13, 2016, the manatees were taken off the endangered species list. This is a great accomplishment for the manatees as they have been endangered for the last 44 years. Being on the endangered species list means that the animal is an extremely high risk of extinction. Many laws have been put in place, though members of the public still believe the animal should kept on the threatened species list.

“I grew up in Florida and lived around manatees, so I love them. I’m glad their population is high enough to be taken off the endangered species list, but they still need to be protected by the boating and human interaction laws. I don’t want to see their numbers dropping again just because they are no longer classified as endangered,” said Ms. Essick, world history and geography teacher at Coronado.

Even though their numbers have exceeded the amount to be considered endangered, the population of the manatees remains fragile at this point.