574 manatees died in Florida waters in 2019

574 manatees died in Florida waters in 2019.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has released its preliminary manatee mortality report showing that 2019 was on of the deadliest year on record.

130 manatees were killed by boats in 2019, that's about 23 percent of the total.

Another 72 died at birth or shortly afterward.

Cold stress killed 56 more and 91 deaths were by unknown causes.

76 manatees were known to have died of natural causes.

There were no reported manatee deaths in Franklin or Gulf county waters.

There were four manatee deaths in Wakulla County – 2 were caused by run-ins with boats.

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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