1083 manatees died in Florida waters in 2021, making it by far the deadliest year on record.
The previous record was in 2013 when 830 manatees died, mainly because of an outbreak of red tide.
Most deaths this year occurred in January and February when manatees migrated through the Indian River Lagoon, where the majority of seagrass has died off.
Many of those manatees starved to death.
Boat strikes also killed at least 101 manatee last year.
Another 109 died at birth or shortly afterward.
Cold stress killed 16 more and 25 deaths were by unknown causes.
There were four recorded manatee deaths in Franklin County last year, 1 in Gulf County and four in Wakulla County.
It is estimated that about 7500 manatees live in Florida waters.
The manatee was once classified as endangered by the federal government, but it was reclassified as threatened in 2017.
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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