Florida authorities yesterday said at least 431 manatees have died in state waters this year, already surpassing in three months the record for manatee deaths for any full calendar year on record.
An initial report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission attributed most of the manatee deaths to “cold stress syndrome” due to this year’s unusually harsh winter temperatures.
The previous record for deaths of the marine mammals was 429, which occurred last year. That number was the highest for any year since the state started tracking the fatalities in 1974.
Florida scientists counted a record high number of 5,067 manatees living in state waters earlier this year, topping the previous high of 3,807 recorded in 2009 (Tom Brown, Reuters, March 24). – DFM