'Likelihood of Extinction': Florida Manatees on the Brink of Dying Out Due to Starvation

Hundreds of manatees for months have been perishing at an unusual rate around Florida's channels. Florida Fish and Wildlife said it's examining the case, but they require more time. That's why a local lawmaker is presently prodding a federal inquiry and funding.

At the lagoon house in Palm Bay of the Marine Resources Council, Dr. Leesa Souto an executive director, and staff work to conserve water conditions in the Indian river lagoon.

She has witnessed a blend of diminishing seagrass and cold stress from winter resulting in the death of manatees in Brevard County at an average of 20 a week.

Mortality Rate

Souto explained that: "Not a blade of seagrass to be discovered," which resulted in the starvation of many manatees, because that is their main source of food. Four hundred thirty-two manatees have lost their lives along Florida's waterways since January 1st, including 180 in Brevard County.

That is already more than the numbers that died all of last year in the county and 70% of the 637 all together in 2020. For this reason, Wildlife and Florida Fish prefer the die-off of safeguarded animals to have a personal designation, understood as a unique mortality event.

Doing so unlocks a federal examination and offers needed funding. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy has carried that request to the federal Wildlife and Fish Service.

Contributions of the Marine Council

The Marine Resources Council is urging the state to enhance lagoon waters, which will protect the manatees' vital food source - and wishfully, before Souto's greatest fears become a reality. "We're staring at a likelihood of extinction in the lagoon by the climax of 2021." Souto said.

The Sea Turtle Healing Center, also in Brevard County, at the Brevard Zoo, is caring for several ill turtles back to health that was discovered stranded earlier this week along the shore.
A serious die-off centers on the Indian northern River Lagoon on Florida's East Coast, where specialists disclosed losses of seagrass as a result of continuous algal blooms have kept the beloved animals without food.

179 death of manatee have been documented this year in Brevard County. Against the 12 deaths documented in Hillsborough mostly across Tampa Bay.

Weight Loss of the Manatees

Executive director Patrick Rose of Save the Manatee Club explained that manatees have lost not only fat but muscle. He explained that it is continuous, painful starvation, and it also diminishes their capacity to go about their regular physical routine. They likely created several incursions in places attempting to search for food where it normally was.

A Florida Wildlife and Fish Conservation Commission veterinarian revealed that manatees are coming out harshly emaciated. An agency spokesperson explained that the veterinarian was not accessible for an interview, but the Commission has released a web page particularly dedicated to the uptick.

Decrease in Availability of Food

Conditions of the habitat in parts of the Indian River Lagoon are concerns the Commission disclosed. Initial information suggests that a decrease in food availability is a donating factor.

The executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Duane De Freese explained that researchers are still striving to deduce the precise causes of all the deaths. Without those outcomes, they are reluctant to announce that any one factor, such as hunger, is mainly to blame.

Related Article: Too Early? Manatees Removed From Endangered Status and Not Everyone Is Happy

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