More perinatal, or baby, manatees were found dead so far this year than in the five previous years, according to preliminary data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
On average since 2019, 70% of all manatee deaths recorded in Florida are perinatal, with carcasses less than five feet long. So far in 2024, 130 of the 435 dead manatees were perinatal: that’s about 30%, based on preliminary FWC data through August 23.
But “it is not necessarily bad news,” according to Martine de Wit, a veterinarian with FWC who oversees the agency’s manatee health research program. In fact, the numbers underscore one key, positive point: more manatee babies are also being born, after 2021’s starvation event killed off manatees in record numbers.
We do not have any concerning trends that would be an extra threat to manatee health. Martine de Wit, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission veterinarianMartine de Wit, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission veterinarian
“The females, they stopped reproducing, and we hardly saw any calves being born,” de Wit said. “So the fact that we didn't see any of those mortalities over the past few years, or very [few] — that was not a good sign.”
Conversely, now, “the fact that we see these dead manatee calves could be a good sign of manatees coming back to reproduction,” de Wit said.
So far, most of the dead calves found this year appear to be stillborn, which is good news in that it doesn’t indicate any new, emergent diseases are threatening manatee health.
“We do not have any concerning trends that would be an extra threat to manatee health,” de Wit said.
Another hopeful sign, de Wit said: FWC’s also observing many live manatee calves out in the wild. And, there haven’t been many orphaned calves among the necropsies.
“I think it's good news that, once the animals are born and they survive, that the females seem to be able to take care of their calves,” de Wit said. “But as these calves grow older, that's something that we want to closely monitor.”
FWC experts still expect to see long-term health effects from 2021’s mass manatee starvation event and resulting die-off.
“We just have to see how this plays out over [the] next couple of years,” de Wit said. “But for now, I think it's a sign of manatee reproduction coming back.”
Anyone who sees a baby manatee alone, or any manatee in distress, can report the sighting to FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline: 1-888-404-3922.
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