manatees

The higher perinatal total indicates manatee reproduction is likely bouncing back from 2021’s starvation event.

Nearly 2,000 manatees died in Florida in 2021 and 2022 as water pollution killed the seagrass they feed on. The manatee was downlisted in 2017 from endangered to threatened.

Researchers at Stetson University have received a million dollars from the National Science Foundation to work on water quality in an area that could help manatees.

The full Florida Senate okayed a bill Wednesday aimed at addressing the state’s alarming rate of seagrass loss and record breaking manatee deaths.

Last year was the second-worst ever when it comes to manatee deaths in Florida. Some 800 mortalities were recorded in 2022.

It will be the second year the wildlife agencies have taken the unprecedented step of providing lettuce for manatees at the power plant in Cape Canaveral.

State wildlife officials Wednesday approved a seasonal no-entry zone in an area of Brevard County waters where manatees gather, while preparing for a second winter of feeding the sea cows to try to prevent deaths.

Plans are already in place to resume an experimental feeding program for manatees that gather at a warm-water power plant near Cape Canaveral.

State wildlife officials are set to establish a “seasonal” no-entry zone in Brevard County waters to further protect threatened manatees, which have seen an unprecedented number of deaths mostly linked to malnutrition.

There have not been as many Florida manatees dying this year, but the iconic sea cows remain in trouble.