manatees

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This Florida Park Just Welcomed Nearly 1K Manatees

Florida's Blue Spring State Park saw record 932 sea cows huddle together for warmth on Jan. 21

(Newser) - When Florida's waters cool down in the winter, its resident manatees huddle together for warmth—this year, in record numbers. On Jan. 21, Volusia County's Blue Spring State Park, which NPR dubs "one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees" in the Sunshine State, witnessed a...

Starving Florida Manatees Get a 55-Ton Snack

Experimental program aims to stop die-off

(Newser) - More than 55 tons of lettuce have been fed to starving Florida manatees as part of an experimental program to help the slow-moving marine mammals since their natural food is being destroyed by water pollution, wildlife officials say. The lettuce, funded by more than 1,000 individual donations, is offered...

New Locale for Starving Manatees: Rehab Centers

More than 80 from Florida being fed elsewhere around the US

(Newser) - More than 80 rescued Florida manatees are in rehabilitation centers across the US as wildlife officials try to stem starvation deaths by the marine mammals because of poor water quality. The latest numbers were released this week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the US Fish and...

At-Risk Manatees Eat Lettuce for the First Time

Pollution is wiping out usual food sources in Florida

(Newser) - Manatees at risk of starvation because native seagrass is dying due to water pollution have for the first time started eating lettuce under an experimental feeding program, Florida wildlife officials said Friday. The test facility on the east coast's Indian River Lagoon had its first takers of romaine lettuce...

Feds' 'Unprecedented' Move: Feeding Starving Manatees

FWS to formally announce Florida trial on Wednesday

(Newser) - In an "unprecedented" move, the US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to feed threatened manatees following a record number of deaths in Florida waters this year. A FWS rep confirmed the plan to TCPalm on Tuesday ahead of a formal announcement Wednesday. "It is a problem created by...

Manatees' Die-Off Continues in Florida
Manatee Record in Florida
Is a Grim One
UPDATED
Nov 18, 2021 8:32 AM CST

Manatee Record in Florida Is a Grim One

Annual death toll for the marine creatures tops 1K, highest number since at least the '70s

(Newser) - Update: The manatee die-off continues in the Sunshine State, with a grim new record: For the first time, annual deaths of the marine mammal have exceeded 1,000. Per the AP , the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported on Wednesday that 1,003 manatees have died this year so...

Why Are Manatees Dying in Florida?
Why Are Manatees
Dying in Florida?
Jul 12, 2021 4:00 AM CDT

Why Are Manatees Dying in Florida?

Starvation due to seagrass loss, biologists believe

(Newser) - Between the start of 2021 and July 2, 841 manatee deaths were recorded in Florida. Despite the fact that the year was only half over, that number set an all-time record for the state, WFLA reports. The previous high, 830 deaths, was recorded for the whole of 2013. That time...

In Florida, the 'Stench of Manatee Carcasses'

Bad water quality, algae blooms are blamed for die-off

(Newser) - As of last month, 749 manatee deaths had been recorded in Florida by state wildlife officials this year. That already surpasses last year's total and puts the state on track to exceed the record 804 deaths in 2018, reports the Guardian . Considering that only about 7,500 of the...

'Trump' Carved on Florida Manatee's Back

$5K reward offered for information leading to conviction

(Newser) - Someone in Florida scraped the word "Trump" onto the back of a manatee. The animal (pictures here ) was found in the Blue Hole on the Homosassa River, about 90 miles from Orlando, the New York Daily News reports. Fox 13 reports the word was scraped into the layer...

'Stir Crazy' Floridians Help Save Stranded Manatees

Rescue 'shows what people can do when they come together'

(Newser) - As Hurricane Irma raged 100 miles away, people in Manatee County, Fla., put their lives on the line to save, well, manatees. A group of "stir crazy" friends ventured out of a shelter in Sarasota on Sunday to find Sarasota Bay emptied of water that was pulled into Irma'...

Oldest Manatee Dies in Aquarium Accident a Day After Turning 69

The 1.3K-pound Snooty's death is under investigation at Florida aquarium

(Newser) - In an unfolding story still under investigation, the world's oldest known manatee was found dead in a submerged cage on Sunday, the morning after his 69th birthday. Snooty, who's lived in the South Florida Museum for 68 of his 69 years, was found stuck in a maintenance hatch...

Manatees Officially Off Endangered List

Too soon, advocates say

(Newser) - Manatees passed a huge milestone this week, but not everybody was cheering about the removal of the marine mammals from the endangered species list after 50 years. The US Fish and Wildlife Service called the change a "success story" for the species when it announced the change Thursday, the...

19 Manatees Saved From Fla. Storm Drain

They had probably been trying to keep warm amid cold snap

(Newser) - Rescuers working late into the night freed 19 manatees who were stuck in a storm drain in central Florida. A Satellite Beach Fire Department rep said early today that the 19 manatees are all alive and have been returned to the Indian River Lagoon System. A manatee-rescue team from the...

Manatee 'Flash Mob' Closes Down Fla. Springs

Three Sisters Springs flooded with more than 300 manatees from high tides, cold

(Newser) - When the mercury drops and the tides rise, manatees often infiltrate Three Sisters Springs in Florida's Crystal River Wildlife Refuge to rest up and get warm—and there was such an influx this week that the US Fish and Wildlife Service closed the springs down to swimmers, snorkelers, and...

16% of Florida's Manatees Died Last Year

Deaths in Florida waters pass 800 for first time

(Newser) - Last year's 829 Florida manatee deaths—a figure that doesn't include December, UPI notes—is more than double the number that died in 2012, according to one conservation group. Another organization, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, put the 2013 figure at 803. Either way, it's...

Die-Off of Manatees, Dolphins Baffles in Florida

Hundreds have died since last July in Indian River Lagoon; pelicans also hard-hit

(Newser) - Hundreds of manatees, dolphins, and pelicans are dying in Florida's Indian River Lagoon, and authorities don't know why. Some of the manatees—111 have perished since last July—have died so quickly, they still have food in their mouths, Wired reports; they appear to have died from shock...

Florida Manatees Dying in Scary Numbers

Deaths near Cape Canaveral remain a mystery

(Newser) - Already an endangered species, manatees are dying by the dozen off both coasts of Florida, Wired reports. Biologists say a red tide—an algal bloom that can be fatal to manatees, fish, and people—has killed 200 manatees in the Gulf of Mexico this year. But manatee deaths on the...

Woman Arrested After Riding a Manatee

Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez says she didn't realize it was illegal

(Newser) - Not a good idea: Riding an endangered sea animal. Really not a good idea: Allowing yourself to be photographed while doing so. After pictures surfaced of Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 53, riding a manatee in Florida two months ago, she was arrested yesterday at the Sears where she works, the...

Florida to Manatee Killer: No More Boat

Nursing mother killed in high-speed collision

(Newser) - A Florida man became the second person in nearly 40 years to be convicted of killing a manatee yesterday, after a neighbor caught him in the act. Joseph Miata Jr, 62, hit the unfortunate sea cow while blasting through a manatee refuge at a recklessly high speed, the St. Petersburg ...

Wandering Manatee Safe in Fla.
 Wandering Manatee Safe in Fla. 
Oct 29, 2009 1:12 PM CDT

Wandering Manatee Safe in Fla.

'Ilya' had gotten as far as CT, rescued near refinery in NJ

(Newser) - Ilya, a 10-foot, 1,100-pound manatee spotted in Connecticut waters 2 weeks ago, is safely recuperating at a Florida aquarium before being released back into the wild. Ilya was rescued 2 days ago wallowing in the warm discharge of a New Jersey oil refinery, but neither that nor his prolonged...

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