Latest Breaking News On - West indian manatee - Page 8 : comparemela.com

One of Florida’s most iconic creatures is under siege. The state’s official marine mammal — the West Indian Manatee — is suffering through a grim year. It’s expected, as soon as next week, to be the deadliest on record. Why? The most likely answer is starvation. There’s a manatee famine in some of the Sunshine State’s most ecologically important estuaries. The worst year for manatees wasn’t that long ago. In 2013, 830 manatees perished for a variety of reasons. That followed a horrible 2011 when hundreds of the sirenians died in the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County following a massive die-off of seagrass caused by a brown tide.

Indian river lagoonUnited statesFort myersPalm cityRon desantisLarry vaughnWildlife serviceDepartment of environmental protectionMembers of congressWest indian manateeSunshine stateBrevard countyFort myers mayAmity islandEnvironmental protectionLake okeechobee