538 manatees died in Florida waters in 2017

538 manatees died in Florida waters in 2017.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission just released its final manatee mortality report showing that last year was the deadliest year for manatees in Florida since 2013.

106 manatees were killed by boats in 2017, that's about 20 percent of the total.

Another 116 died at birth or shortly afterward.

Cold stress killed 27 more and 122 deaths were by unknown causes.

87 manatees were known to have died of natural causes.

There were no reported manatee deaths in Franklin, Gulf or Wakulla county waters last year.

Manatees are no longer listed as an endangered species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2017 the federal government re-designated West Indian manatees as threatened.

If you find a sick or injured manatee you should report it to the Florida Wildlife Alert Hot line at 888-404-3922.

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