Wildlife

Manatees are dying in record numbers in Florida

A record-breaking number of manatees have died this year in Florida’s waters, mostly due to starvation. Between Jan. 1 and July 2, 841 manatees died near and off the coast of Florida, according to a preliminary mortality report published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida’s previous deadliest year for manatees was 2013, when 830 manatees died, mostly from exposure to toxins from a harmful algal bloom known as red tide.

The main cause of this year’s die-off, however, is starvation. Most of these manatees died during the colder months, when they migrated to and through the Indian River Lagoon, a group of three lagoons located southeast of Orlando, on Florida’s east coast, where most seagrass had died out.

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