At the bottom of Naple Island Gazette’s front page, I saw the headline: Manatee Habitat Threatened by Local Development. The article explained that a new housing development was planned for an area along the Okee River. Many of the properties would have docks in the river so owners could park their boats and have easy access out into the bay. I knew that the Okee River was the best place locally to spot manatees. They loved floating in the warm water and munching the thick sea grasses that cover the river bottom. Right now, it was the perfect habitat for manatees, but once motorboats started zooming up and down the river, it would no longer be perfect. In fact, it would be dangerous to them. When I arrived at school later that morning, I had the article ready to share with my classmates. I eagerly approached my teacher, Ms. Patel, and shared my ideas. Ms. Patel was impressed. She gave me permission to address the class. …show more content…
Patel greeted her students, “Kenia has shared a bit of news with me this morning, and I would like to give her a change to let you knew about it as well. Her plan will make a great project for us this semester.” I began by describing what I knew about the housing development. Then, I continued with information about manatees. “Manatees are sometimes called sea cows. Like cows, they are big, gentle mammals that love to eat grass. Of course, manatees live in the water and they graze on sea grass, and instead of hooves, they have flippers on the ends of their front legs, and instead of back legs, they have a giant flat tail. The reason they live along the coast and in the river around here is because they can’t survive in water that is too deep or too cold. Warm, shallow water is the perfect habitat for them. They can easily float to the surface and breathe, and they can float back down to the bottom, where they chow on sea