or flesh, bones, and hide by Native Americans and later by the early colonists. Manateefat was used for lamp oil, bones were used for medicinal purposes, and hide for leather(U.S.). This kind of hunting, is believed to have begun the initial decline of the manateepopulation, but today the decline is due to different factors. The main cause of manateedeaths is due to speeding boats. Speeding boats run over many manatees that aresubmerged just below the surface , killing them by either impact with the boat itself, orby slicing into their backs with propellers (U.S.) If a manatee is not fatally sliced by thepropeller of the boat, it may die from internal injuries, or survive with deep scars toremind them of the nearly mortal accident with a reckless human. Boats account forabout 26% of deaths among the manatees. It was documented in the US Fish and WildlifeService’s catalog that power boats outnumber manatees 600 to one (Fichtner). Thisdisturbing fact makes me wonder why we don’t have any laws that would help us controlthe numbers of boats in areas with large manatee populations. Humans also put manateesin danger when closing flood gates and canal locks. Numerous manatees have beencrushed by these closing flood gates (U.S.). As if the boats weren’t a powerful enoughmurder weapon against these innocent animals, our fisherman are negligent with theirfishing nets and lines which cause many of the manatees to die. They may swallow thesefishing nets which will get tangled up in the tracts of the animal, or a fishing line maybecome tightly wound around a flipper and create serious infections or even death (U.S.). Most of these causes are more or less accidental even though preventable, but whatdisgusts me the most is when fishermen, skin divers, and boaters purposely harass theseanimals and purposely interrupt feeding and mating activities of the manatees (U.S.). How sadistic can a person get? I was always taught t...
