Manatees were commonly hunted for their meat by natives
of the Caribbean, although this is much less common today.
On June 8, 2006, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission voted to reclassify the manatee on Florida's list,
to a "threatened" status in that state. While none of the
state laws protecting manatees have changed, many wildlife
conservationists are not pleased with the removal decision.
Manatees remain classified as "endangered" at the federal
level. The population of manatees in Florida is thought to
be between 2,000 and 3,000.
Manatees typically inhabit warm, shallow, coastal estuarine
waters. Manatees often congregate near power plants, which
warm the waters. Some have become reliant on this source of
unnatural heat and have ceased migrating to warmer waters.
Some power plants have recently been closing and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to
heat the water for these manatees .