Manatee Appreciation Day

Manatee Appreciation Day History

Manatee Appreciation Day seeks to raise awareness about the herbivorous sea cows. Manatees are aquatic mammals that mostly eat plants. Their peaceful behavior combined with their long robust bodies earned them the nickname sea cow. There are three species of manatees: Amazonian, West African, and West Indian. This day encourages learning more about manatees and how we can protect them from habitat loss.

Manatee Appreciation Day is believed to have been started by the nonprofit organization, Save the Manatee Club. The club got its start in 1981 when Florida Governor Bob Graham and singer Jimmy Buffet made it their mission to protect manatees. Today, Manatee Appreciation day is observed annually on the third Wednesday of March.

Top 10 Facts for Manatee Appreciation Day in 2026

• Despite their aquatic lifestyle, manatees are more closely related to elephants and hyraxes than they are to other marine mammals like seals or walruses, a lineage evidenced by their thick skin and the vestigial toenails found on their flippers.
• These gentle giants possess a unique dental adaptation known as marching molars, where their teeth are continuously replaced throughout their lives by new ones that grow at the back of the jaw and move forward to replace those worn down by abrasive seagrass.
• Unlike most mammals that have seven cervical vertebrae, manatees are among the rare exceptions with only six, a biological quirk that prevents them from turning their heads side-to-side and forces them to rotate their entire bodies to look around.
• Historically, manatees are the biological inspiration for many mermaid myths, a connection famously documented by Christopher Columbus who noted in his journal that the "mermaids" he encountered were not as beautiful as depicted and had distinctly masculine facial features.
• Manatees are incredibly efficient breathers, capable of replacing up to 90 percent of the air in their lungs with a single surface breath, whereas humans typically only replace about 10 percent of their lung capacity in a similar cycle.
• Their entire bodies are covered in specialized sensory hairs called vibrissae, which allow them to detect minute changes in water pressure and navigate murky environments through a highly developed tactile sense.
• The global advocacy for these animals was significantly bolstered by the late musician Jimmy Buffett, who co-founded the Save the Manatee Club in 1981 to spearhead international protection and rehabilitation efforts.
• In a major milestone for the species, conservationists recently celebrated a record-breaking year for rehabilitation, including the successful return of 26 wild manatees to their natural habitats through programs supported by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.
• As members of the biological order Sirenia, manatees spend up to eight hours a day grazing on aquatic vegetation, consuming nearly 10 percent of their body weight daily to maintain their energy in the water.
• Recent scientific observations have highlighted the cognitive depth of the species, revealing that despite having the smallest brain-to-body ratio of any mammal, they are as capable of solving complex experimental tasks as dolphins.

In the News and Trending for Manatee Appreciation Day

Top things to do for Manatee Appreciation Day

• Visit Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida. It's home to over 450 manatees. Manatee season runs from November 15th to the end March so be sure to visit and catch the lovable docile sea cows in one of their natural habitats.
• Help save the manatees! Learn how to report an injured manatee or help support manatee protection. You can even adopt a manatee. Discover more ways to help.
• Watch a documentary on manatees. Learn more about conservation efforts and how you can help protect their species.