BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – With conditions improving in the Mosquito Lagoon, a feeding program designed to supplement manatee food sources in Brevard County will not take place this winter, Florida Fish and Wildlife officials announced last week.
For the last two years, wildlife teams have provided manatees with lettuce near an FPL power station as a mass die-off of seagrass beds, the primary source of food, led to the discovery of starving manatees and an increase in manatee deaths.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service classified the situation as an unusual mortality event in 2021 when at least 1,100 manatees died. The agency and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been working to reduce the effect on the sea cows while biologists looked for ways to replenish the seagrass beds.
Eight hundred died in 2022. So far this year, 505 manatees have died, according to FWC statistics. Forty-seven manatees were found dead in Brevard County. Lee County recorded the most manatee mortalities with 108.
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The feeding station had a dual purpose — it supplemented food for the animals while also making it easier for wildlife teams to check for sick, injured or malnourished manatees. Last March wildlife officials said they provided almost 400,000 pounds of lettuce to hundreds of manatees. They also said the pace of manatee deaths seemed to be slowing.
On Friday, FWC said there are adequate foraging resources for the animals in the Mosquito Lagoon. They also said nothing indicated that the manatees in the area are struggling because of a lack of food.
If anything changes with the manatees, officials do have a plan to implement feeding if it’s needed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the situation to see if manatees need to be relisted as an endangered species.
If you see any sick, injured or dead manatees, you’re asked to call FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
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