manatees

New legislation attempts to prevent the loss of seagrass in Florida, which is essential to the state's marine ecosystem, but environmentalists are skeptical of the plan.

Wildlife officials say an infusion of projects to improve water quality is a good start, as they seek to avoid a recurrence of large numbers of manatee deaths due to a lack of seagrass and degraded water in the Indian River Lagoon.

Manatee rescue and rehabilitation groups don't have enough space to care for the rising number of sea cows that need help. That's according to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency is co-leading a team to coordinate moving manatees from one facility to another, among other responsibilities.

Nearly 1,000 Florida manatees have died so far this year. And congressional lawmakers are hoping to bypass current regulations to get the West Indian manatee immediately relisted as endangered.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking lawmakers for money to fund initiatives to help manatees. Part of that is a $3 million budget request the agency says will help fund the restoration and enhancement of lakes, rivers, springs, and other manatee habitats.

With more than 900 manatee deaths this year in Florida, conservation groups signaled Monday that they plan to file a lawsuit against the federal government over “critical habitat” areas for the sea cows.

Federal officials have declared an unusual mortality event for the state's manatees. An investigation is underway as to why they're dying off so quickly. More than 700 manatees have died in Florida so far this year. That's more than double the average.

After an uptick in manatee deaths last year, wildlife activists are pushing for a change in Florida's boating safety rules. Sarah Gledhill works for the Center for Biological Diversity. She says the center wants all boaters to take a safety course that she says will inherently help manatees.

A rehabilitated manatee was spotted in the wild recently. She was released seven years ago after being seriously injured by a boat. Experts say reports…

It’s been a tough year for Florida manatees. Red tide and cold snaps have led to their highest death rate since 2013, and that death rate could still go…