There was sad news today for every junior high student’s favorite aquatic mammal. According to a report by the Associated Press, Florida manatees died in record numbers last month, up by a third from January 2005.

Of the roughly 3000 manatees that live in Florida (home to the world’s largest manatee population), 48 died last month. Six died from cold stress, others from boating accidents and natural causes. Half of the bodies had decomposed too much to tell.

With that image in mind, please remember that the sporty and elegant sea-cows were once mistaken for mermaids by lady-starved sailors.

Interestingly, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has recently taken steps to remove manatees from the Endangered Species List, and put them on the “Threatened Species List,” a lower rung down the old conservation ladder. This could ease restrictions on the speedboats and waterfront development that threaten manatee habitats. The St. Petersburg Times is not happy about this.

Although the justification for the downlisting is that the manatee population has been doing a bit better lately, it may instead be the result of changes in the standards for Florida’s endangered lists. The state developed the new standards in 1999, and began reviewing the manatee situation in 2003. "The real world state of manatees hasn't changed," James Powell of the Wildlife Trust told National Geographic in 2003.

Now this reminds me of yesterday’s news, in which the bald eagle was rumored to be graduating off the endangered species list. The question is, how much of the protective measures that save endangered populations do we retain once the species are de-listed? Some say the protections are an economic burden no longer necessary when the populations stabilize. Others say the populations will drop down again once the restrictions are loosened. I say let’s look at what happened to the mermaids and learn from our mistakes.

(And speaking of bald animals, here’s an old story I ran into from National Geographic about bears going bald from mange. There’s a good picture of one of the bears, in case you’ve ever wondered what bears look like without their fur on. Heartbreaking, sure, but maybe a little funny?)