manatee deaths

More than 2,000 of the gentle sea cows have died in Florida in the last two years, mainly from algae blooms that smothers the sea grasses they need to survive.

Florida's manatees have been dying at rates that are considered unsustainable in the past several years. So the Clearwater Marine Aquarium has broken ground on a new facility to help treat stricken sea cows.

The pace of manatee deaths seems to have slowed following the second year of the experimental feeding program that was launched because of the deaths of at least 1,100 manatees in 2021.

One proposal would create a decade-long seagrass restoration plan after the state saw a dramatic rise in seagrass loss, tied to record manatee deaths.

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service wants to delist the wood stork from endangered to threatened, which has Florida conservation groups at odds

A record 13 manatees released in one day at Blue Spring, and more at Crystal River and Apollo Beach last week bring the year's total so far to nearly two dozen.

The latest figures are showing that 56 manatees have been found dead so far in Florida this year — even more than last year during the same time frame. That's worrying since last year was Florida's second-deadliest year for manatees on record.

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

Authorities continue an experimental lettuce feeding program at a power plant on Florida's east coast, where manatees typically gather in winter.

A recent grant from the FWC will will allow the museum to also help with critical care.

The second year of the feeding program comes after a record 1,102 manatee deaths in 2021.

They include feeding lettuce for the second straight year, as poor water quality and algae blooms have depleted seagrass beds that provide a key food source for manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.