- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated that manatees are becoming extinct at an unprecedented rate.
- The organization stated that the lack of seaweed caused malnutrition in manatees.
- Officials said that some of the bodies were “severely wasted” and weighed about 40% less than expected.
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Hundreds of manatees starved to death off the coast of Florida, and state officials said the collapse of the ecosystem may be the culprit.
Preliminary status data shows that from January 1, 2021 to August 13, 2021, At least 912 manatees died off the coast of Florida – From An average of 578 manatees die each year Between 2015 and 2020.
Although more than 500 manatees have not been autopsied, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated in its data that the unprecedented death rate of manatees may be caused by starvation, especially in the Indus Lagoon in Florida, where lack of seagrass. Among the malnourished species.
Mike Walsh, Co-Director of Aquatic Animal Health, University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine, Tell the guardian Seagrass in the Indus Lagoon is over-grazing and blooms with algae that block sunlight.
Manatees still travel to the area, hoping to find shelter in the hot water discharged from the Florida Electric and Lighting Company’s power station. Orlando Sentinel reports.
Martine de Wit, a veterinarian who dissected manatees for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told the Guardian that some of the carcasses in the lagoon were “severely emaciated” and weighed about 40% less than expected.
Monica Ross, a research scientist at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, told the Guardian that activists and researchers are now monitoring manatees, hoping to find a protection plan for the winter in the future.
But Duane de Vries, executive director of the Indus Lagoon National Estuary Program, told the Orlando Sentinel that repairing the ecosystem of the Indus Lagoon may take 5 billion U.S. dollars (73.6 billion rand) and 20 years.
“We are at an orderly beginning,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
