Saving the manatee. (Civics).

Two years ago, Stephanie Cohen saw a photograph of an injured manatee in her local newspaper. The manatee, a large marine mammal, had been hit by a boat, which fractured its skull.

Stephanie, 10, wanted to do something to help this endangered species. "I just wanted to save them from extinction," she says.

Manatees are plant-eating mammals that grow as long as 12 feet and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. About 3,000 of these gentle animals live in the warm, shallow waters around Florida.

Humans pose the biggest threat to the manatee. Last year, more than 80 of the animals were killed, either by boating accidents or after eating trash discarded by humans.

Stephanie, who is a fifth-grader at Glenhope Elementary School in Colleyville, Texas, started a campaign to raise money for the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. The institute conserves (saves) marine environments and treats injured animals.

By placing donation boxes in doctors' offices, hospitals, and local stores, and by selling manatee-shaped pins that she makes, Stephanie has raised hundreds of dollars to help these sea creatures. She has also helped draw attention to the plight (serious condition) of this endangered species.

Last fall, Stephanie took a trip to Orlando to meet some of the manatees. "I like how they are slow and gentle," she told The Dallas Morning News. "They're so ugly, they're cute."