Florida manatee deaths rose to 527 in 2017, seven more than last year and 24 more than the 10-year average of 503, according to statistics released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
A decade of manatee deaths in Florida
2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
About 20 percent were killed by watercraft collisions, with another 20 percent perishing just before or after birth (perinatal), followed by death from natural causes, cold stress, human interactions other than watercraft and entrapment in flood gates or canal locks. Most manatee deaths were of undetermined cause.
In Manatee County, 20 deaths were recorded, including five from watercraft, seven listed as natural causes, five perinatal, two undetermined and one unrecovered. Not included in the wild manatee count was Snooty, Manatee County’s official mascot, who died in captivity at the South Florida Museum after swimming through an opening revealed by a dislodged access panel and becoming trapped in a small maintenance area.
The highest statewide death count in the past decade was in 2013, during which 830 manatees died in Florida waters.
Manatees were downlisted this year from endangered to the less serious threatened status by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
If you see a manatee in distress or a dead manatee, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline, 888-404-3922 (FWCC), #FWC or *FWC on a cell phone, or text Tip@MyFWC.com. Report the location of the animal, its signs of injury or distress, the nearest boat ramp and your contact information.
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