Thirsty Manatees | National Geographic

Christy Hudak and John Cassady work with
manatees for Florida’s Fish and Wildlife
Service the freshwater flow coming from
the Everglades is very important for the
manatees if manatees we’re never able to
find fresh water they you eventually die
today around these mangroves they can’t
find a single manatee with less fresh
water coming out of the Everglades
manatees must search for a drink
elsewhere
and she’s changing their behavior and
they’ll start coming to any boat dock
that has a freshwater hose
when they do find manatees it’s right
behind their engine in a man-made canal
this is what thirst looks like when not
enough freshwater flows through the park
you’re watching a manatee trying to get
some fresh water from that coming out
ice machine they start coming into areas
with some boat traffic it’s dangerous
for them it seems this manatees
desperate search for water has already
brought it all too close to a propeller
those marks on its back are fresh cuts
the type of cuts that have killed many
manatees are another casualty of the
freshwater shortage if the water stops
they may disappear from here altogether