The United States Postal Service is launching a new manatee-themed postage stamp to raise awareness about protections the marine mammal needs.
USPS announced last week that it will sell the “Save Manatees” stamps in post offices across the country, starting on Manatee Appreciation Day, March 27.
The artwork on the stamp depicts the West Indian manatee, a breed that lives in the inland waterways of Florida.
“The Save Manatees stamp is being issued to create awareness about the threats posed to this beloved marine mammal,” USPS wrote on its website. “Human vigilance is crucial for the protection of the threatened West Indian manatee—both to minimize motorboat strikes and to maintain the aquatic plants on which it feeds.”
Since the 1970s, the world’s manatee populations have rebounded from their lowest point when only hundreds remained.
Efforts to restore the animal population have resulted in them being upgraded from an endangered species to threatened in 2017. Although, they are still protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Currently, the US Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that there are at least 13,000 manatees in the world today, and almost half that number resides in Florida waters.
However, concerns for the species remain due to a recent increase in deaths.
“Toxic algae blooms, worsened by pollution, kill seagrass,” the USPS shared on its website. “In recent years, this loss of manatees’ primary food resources has led to starvation. Collisions with fast-moving watercraft can also prove fatal; almost all grown manatees bear scars from boat propellers.”