Red Tide Bloom Kills Record-Breaking Number of Manatees in Florida

A deadly Red Tide bloom has been killing many manatees daily and the algae bloom will continue for a while according to Tampa Bay Times.

"This is probably going to be the worst die-off in history," said Martine DeWit, a veterinarian who oversees the state's marine mammal pathology laboratory.

The highest number for manatees killed by Red Tide was set in 1996, with 151 killed by a toxin in the algae bloom. On Friday the number reached 149 so far this year.

Many of the rescued manatees are being treated at a manatee rehab hospital at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

Red tide is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color.

Red Tide has plagued Florida's gulf coast beaches for centuries. The algae bloom turns the water into a rust color, releasing large amounts of natural toxins. This is very harmful and even fatal not only to manatees but to people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds in high concentrations.

The current Red Tide bloom affects about 70 miles of the southwest Florida coast, from Sarasota County south through the middle of Lee County.

The phenomenon, caused by algae, leaves a toxin on the manatees' food source.

Around 40 percent of the state's estimated manatee population of 4,000 to 5,000 animals lives in southwest Florida from Tampa Bay down to the Ten Thousand Islands.

Experts say 392 manatees died in 2012 from all causes.