Florida Manatee Deaths Drop, But Starvation Remains A Concern

 Jan Wesner Childs

Published: January 11, 2023

T​he number of manatees that died in Florida waters in 2022 was lower than the previous year's record high, but state wildlife officials say there is still cause for concern with a lack of food continuing to be an issue for the giant marine mammals.

P​reliminary numbers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) show that 800 manatees died in 2022, compared to 1,100 the year before.

The number in 2021 was a record high since the FWC began tracking manatee deaths in 1974, and many of the dead animals were emaciated with signs of starvation. Many rescued manatees were in similarly bad shape.

A​ state-backed feeding program and a lack of harsh winter weather last year are two possible reasons for a decline in the number of deaths. A similar feeding program is in place this year as well.

“The manatees do appear to generally be in better shape overall,” FWC manatee biologist Michelle Pasawicz said during a weekly update Wednesday. “I think we were helping some manatees for sure. A milder winter definitely gives the manatees a better chance.”

Manatees eat lettuce at a state feeding site near Titusville, Florida.

Manatees are extremely sensitive to cold weather, but a frigid chill at Christmas didn't result in a spike in deaths as feared.

T​he fact that so many manatees died in recent years might mean the weakest have been killed off, which also could be a factor in the improved numbers, according to an end-of-year report from the FWC.

The state, and specifically the Indian River Lagoon on Florida's East Coast, is in the midst of what the FWC says is an "unusual mortality event" that started in December 2020 in the already reduced manatee population.

The IRL is a 156-mile estuary that parallels the Atlantic Ocean shoreline from Volusia to Martin counties. The shallow, brackish waters of the lagoon's estuary system are considered both a primary habitat and migration route for manatees.

Seagrass is the manatees' primary natural food source. But algae blooms, poor water quality, pollution and other issues have in recent years killed off much of the lagoon's vast seagrass beds, leaving manatees with less to eat.

A manatee eats grass from a yard on Florida's Indian River Lagoon.

In a desperate effort to curb the manatee death toll, the FWC purchased up to 20,000 pounds of lettuce a week last winter to feed large groups of the animals that gather in the warm water discharge from a power plant near Titusville, on the IRL about 40 miles east of Orlando, near the Kennedy Space Center. It's illegal for regular citizens to feed manatees.

The state program is funded by donations.

An adult manatee typically weighs about 1,000 pounds and can eat about 4% to 9% of its body weight per day.

The most recent counts by the state, released in 2015 and 2019, showed between 5,700 and 8,000 manatees in Florida. In all, more than 2,500 are confirmed to have died in the past three years, including 27 in the first week of 2023.

Anyone who sees a dead or injured manatee should report it to the FWC's wildlife hotline at 888-404-3922.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.