manatees are, they are dying. a record number, more than a thousand. the mass dieoff boils down to pollution. fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns, leaking sewage from industrial solution. it makes its way into florida watersheds and creates algae blooms that crowds off clouds out sunlight killing off sea grass, the main food of the manatee. for the first time, starvation rather than boat propellers account for most of the manatee fatalities. if the sea grass isn t as abundant as it was. they have to go elsewhere for food. most of the 1,000 plus manatee deaths have happened