MAITLAND — Go big this holiday season when you Adopt-A-Manatee® from Save the Manatee Club! While you can’t actually bring a manatee home — they can grow to an average weight of between 800-1,200 pounds — these symbolic adoptions of real Florida manatees support manatee conservation efforts and make a unique holiday gift for family and friends.

Manatee adoption packages can be shipped directly to your gift recipient and include a personalized adoption certificate, a biography with a photo of your specially chosen manatee, a Save the Manatee Club membership handbook, and newsletters sent throughout the year with updates on adoptees and manatee conservation news.

Each symbolic manatee adoption starts at $25 and includes a one-year Save the Manatee Club membership. Members receive a quarterly newsletter, The Manatee Zone, with updates on adoptable manatees and additional important manatee information. For a limited time, Save the Manatee Club’s 2023 wall calendar is included free with each order. Order by Dec. 8 to ensure holiday delivery.

Unlike other wildlife adoption programs, the Adopt-A-Manatee choices are real, living manatees with unique histories. Some manatees have been recorded in their natural habitat by researchers for years, like Una, who is easily identifiable via her flippers, which have been damaged by fishing line entanglement. Others are viewable at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida year-round, like Betsy, who has been named “The Inspector” as for her curious nature. Select from over 30 adoptable manatees or send a gift certificate so your loved one can choose their favorite.

Funds from the Adopt-A-Manatee® program directly support Save the Manatee Club in its mission to protect manatees and their habitat, including emergency rescue, rehabilitation and release efforts; education and public awareness programs; and other critical work to address the ongoing manatee mortality crisis on Florida’s east coast.

“Not only is the Adopt-A-Manatee program a great way to give a unique and educational gift, the funds are indispensable to helping Save the Manatee continue our work to conserve manatees and their habitat,” said Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of Save the Manatee Club. “As we enter into another winter manatee season — what is likely to be the third challenging year to save as many manatees as possible from the ongoing mortality event for manatees on Florida’s east coast — Save the Manatee Club is committed to doing everything we can to support the rescue, rehabilitation, and return to the wild of manatees in need. We are also working continually to identify and conserve critical manatee habitat.”

To Adopt-A-Manatee, visit adoptamanatee.org or call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646).