Campaign in Belize against manatee hunts

	Swim with the manatees
	3.7MB/37 sec./320x240 1.3MB/37 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

January 31, 1998
Web posted at: 11:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT)

BELIZE CITY, Belize (CNN) -- Environmentalists who monitor populations of endangered manatees say 1997 was the worst year in two decades for the sea-faring mammals, who populate shallow coastal waters from Florida to South America.

Once numbering around 30,000, there are now just a few hundred remaining manatees, relatives of the elephant who feed on coastal grasses.

One major threat to their survival comes from boats -- many manatee carry scars from collisions with propellers. But in Belize and other Latin American countries, the animals are also hunted for their meat -- and their unproven medicinal value as an aphrodisiac.

But now, some Belizean villagers, supported by environmentalists from the United States, are on patrol, trying to stop the hunters.

"We can see that attitudes are being changed," says Wil Maheia of the Belize Center for Environmental Studies. "We have people coming into our office telling us they have seen manatees recently or if they have seen some kind of suspicious behavior around the manatees."

Related stories:

• Everglades turn 50, but will they live to see 100? - December 6, 1997
• Land purchase helps restore Everglades - June 17, 1997
• Scientists rescue manatee in danger after yearlong search - March 15, 1997
• Manatees have a rough year - January 18, 1997
• Experts race to find why manatees are dying off - April 3, 1996
• Scientists search for cause of mysterious manatee deaths - March 29, 1996
• Disease killing off Florida's manatees - March 22, 1996

Related sites:

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• Everglades National Park
• South Florida Environmental Reader
• Miami Seaquarium Online
• Endangered species - Manatee
• West Indian Manatee in Florida
• Save the Manatee Club

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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