WEBVTT 00:00.700 --> 00:08.008 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% [narrator] The Florida manatee . 00:08.008 --> 00:14.714 align:left position:77.5% line:89% size:12.5% playful and beloved by people of all ages. 00:14.714 --> 00:20.053 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [jaime] They're this big kind of goofy, graceful creature. 00:20.053 --> 00:25.825 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% [cora] You can literally be in a canoe or kayak, and you have this two-thousand-pound 00:25.825 --> 00:29.529 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% creature underneath you, and you would never know it's even there. 00:29.529 --> 00:36.369 align:left position:80% line:83% size:10% [narrator] Designated the state s marine mammal in 1975, manatees are often called 00:36.369 --> 00:43.610 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% sea cows because they graze on freshwater and marine plants. 00:43.610 --> 00:48.448 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% This includes seagrasses, which have been disappearing at alarming levels. 00:48.448 --> 00:55.422 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [paul] It's heartbreaking to know that what once used to be a plush greenery is now basically 00:55.422 --> 00:57.023 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5% an underwater desert. 00:57.023 --> 01:00.927 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [lorae] Manatees can eat approximately a hundred pounds of seagrass a day. 01:00.927 --> 01:08.435 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% And so when you lose that seagrass habitat, you're losing that food source for manatees. 01:08.435 --> 01:11.004 align:left position:72.5% line:89% size:17.5% [dennis] Seagrass is really, really important. 01:11.004 --> 01:14.908 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [beth] If you don't have seagrass beds, you don't have juvenile fisheries. 01:14.908 --> 01:16.743 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% That's where juvenile fishes go. 01:16.743 --> 01:22.816 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% So, you have much larger problems that are eventually going to trickle down to humans. 01:22.816 --> 01:29.222 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% [narrator] The loss of seagrass in parts of Florida has contributed to a record-breaking 01:29.222 --> 01:34.561 align:left position:72.5% line:89% size:17.5% number of manatee deaths since December 2020. 01:34.561 --> 01:40.667 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% The situation became so dire that the wildlife managers resorted to feeding the gentle giants 01:40.667 --> 01:47.207 align:left position:67.5% line:83% size:22.5% during the winter months, at one manatee gathering spot where the waters are warm but the 01:47.207 --> 01:48.808 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% seagrass is scarce. 01:48.808 --> 01:53.513 align:left position:70% line:83% size:20% [cora] Which is really something that's unheard of. 01:53.513 --> 01:57.650 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% That's never been tried out before and we have to keep in mind this is really only a 01:57.650 --> 02:01.254 align:left position:77.5% line:83% size:12.5% band-aid to get manatees through the worst of the winter. 02:01.254 --> 02:05.625 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [ron] It's all trial and error, but we thought it was worth a try, see if we could reduce 02:05.625 --> 02:07.494 align:left position:70% line:89% size:20% some of the rescues and some of the mortalities. 02:07.494 --> 02:11.164 align:left position:80% line:89% size:10% [jaime] It is a scary time for manatees. 02:11.164 --> 02:13.133 align:left position:80% line:89% size:10% [beth] Manatees are a Keystone species. 02:13.133 --> 02:17.670 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% Meaning if you don't have manatees, you have serious problems with your environment. 02:17.670 --> 02:24.811 align:left position:72.5% line:83% size:17.5% [narrator] Will the unprecedented steps taken by wildlife officials help save the starving 02:24.811 --> 02:27.380 align:left position:27.5% line:89% size:62.5% Florida manatees? 02:27.380 --> 02:31.380 align:left position:75% line:83% size:15% And what are researchers doing to replenish the lost seagrasses?