Sources of Danger
Various human activities threaten manatee populations, and activists working to save the species aggressively protest these actions. Fishing nets and lines can cause injuries to manatees that often lead to serious infections. Many manatee deaths are the result of collisions with boats when the mammals are surfacing for air. They are not fast enough to elude the boat propellers, and thus suffer from fatal gashes. Additionally, the recent increase in coastal development has severely affected manatee habitats. The habitats themselves have been destroyed as residential and commercial development has occurred along seagrass beds, mangroves, and salt marshes where manatees live. Pollution in these areas may also have an effect on manatee mortality, as chemicals introduced into their habitats lead to impaired immune systems. The fact that manatees tend to gather in the warm water outflows of power plants furthers the likelihood of the spread of disease. Humans are the only life that endangers manatees.
Read more about this topic: Manatee Conservation Status
Famous quotes containing the words sources of, sources and/or danger:
“On board ship there are many sources of joy of which the land knows nothing. You may flirt and dance at sixty; and if you are awkward in the turn of a valse, you may put it down to the motion of the ship. You need wear no gloves, and may drink your soda-and-brandy without being ashamed of it.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
“The American grips himself, at the very sources of his consciousness, in a grip of care: and then, to so much of the rest of life, is indifferent. Whereas, the European hasn’t got so much care in him, so he cares much more for life and living.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Yet some natures are too good to be spoiled by praise, and wherever the vein of thought reaches down into the profound, there is no danger from vanity. Solemn friends will warn them of the danger of the head’s being turned by the flourish of trumpets, but they can afford to smile.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)