Lavia
Manatee
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This is Lavia. Lavia is one of the most recently born manatees. She was born in captivity due to her species being endangered in the wild. This is her story.
The manatee is a herbivorous marine animal whose main food source is ocean algae. Due to ocean pollution, over half of the manatee deaths this year in Florida alone were caused by starvation. Another 25% of those deaths were the consequence of contaminated food sources. Ocean pollution is easily the largest contributor to both of these issues, causing the algae to perish at a faster rate and pollute those that survive. Manatees are so important to our ecosystem because they help prevent ocean vegetation from becoming overgrown, keeping our oceans clean. However, despite having no natural predators, the manatee is considered an endangered species due to the sheer amount of deaths caused by ocean pollution.
Over 20% of manatees have been taken into captivity as an attempt to save the species, illustrating the severity of the situation.
Clean water isn’t a luxury, it’s life or death.
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