Thesis: Manatee does not have any natural predators in their environment, but humans are the unnatural predator that causes manatees to be endangered. Declining populationis alarming and we need to do something to stop the decline.I. Introduction: My experience with a manatee at Sea WorldII. Columbus’s discovery A. Thought manatees were mermaidsIII. History of the manatees A. Facts about manatees B. Declining populationIV. What is happening to the manatees? A. Causes of deaths among manateesV. What has been done and what we can do to protect the manateesVI. Manatees are our guinea pigsColumbus’s BeautiesIt was my first encounter with the mysterious West Indian manatee at Sea Worldin San Diego. When I got the manatee’s attention by lightly tapping on the glass, he, likea bloated blimp, floated over to the glass to make eye contact. Thick glass separated mefrom this creature that I was seeing for the first time, but the gentle stare that penetratedthe glass from the other side made the glass almost inexistent. His pink eyes were tinycompared to size of his colossal body, but they revealed a sense of gentleness about thecreature. His approach was gradual, but he seemed sweet and genuine. He looked like ahuge seal with a flat face and a body that reminded me of a punching bag, both tough. When the manatee was glass distance away from me, the surface of the skin becamevisible, and I felt like I was looking at an elephant that had no ears and was able to swim. The resemblance in the skin was incredible, both animals having rough, leathery grayskin. The mimicry was a definite work of evolution. The bonding with my new frienddid not last long, three minutes at the most, because I was not as important to him as hislunch. A chunk of sea weed was dropped into the tank from above, and the manatee didnot hesitate to jolt toward it. He seemed to view the food as a lonesome travel...
