The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have reported that, “As of May 21, at least 749 manatees have died in Florida in 2021.” Greetings to you! In this blog, I’m sorry to report to you that Florida is on track to set a new sobering record for manatee deaths this year. While it’s…
Greetings! This blog is a continuation on the unique Florida manatee (yours truly). This is the fifth installment in a series of quizzes to test your awesome manatee knowledge! Just select your answer from each of the choices under the question. You’ll find the answer key located at the bottom of this blog. OK – are…
Red Tide Invades Florida’s East Coast from Miami to West Palm Beach with beach closures. Greetings! There’s been a deadly red tide bloom on Florida’s west coast all of this past spring and summer. In 2017, the FWC blamed 67 manatee deaths on red tide. So far this year, 80 manatee deaths are already being…
Florida Fish and Wildlife officials rescue manatee in distress from devastating Red Tide. (Photo/Susan Smart/Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission) Greetings! You’ve probably heard me talk about how we manatees have “no enemies.” Well – that’s right; alligators, sharks, and all marine life bring manatees no harm at all. However, every so often an unfortunate event happens,…
Harmful algal blooms known as HABs become present when groups of algae known as Karenia brevis grow out of control producing toxic effects on manatees (marine mammals), people, fish, shellfish and birds. These HABs are also known as Red Tide because of their reddish color. Greetings! You’ve probably read some of my previous blogs on manatees and…
The West Indian Manatee Greetings! Here’s a continuation of my blog on manatee facts (Part 4). It reviews some of the awesome manatee factsI’ve presented over these last few years! Manatees are currently listed as threatened. And the definition of threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the United States is defined as “any species,…
2018 could turn out to be a bad year for manatee deaths in Florida. Greetings! You’ve probably read and experienced this extremely cold, snowy, and harsh winter, which doesn’t want to loosen its grip even though Spring 2018 is now here! Well, as I’m sure you know, manatees are warm-blooded and need water temperatures of…
Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur nearly every summer along the nation’s coasts. Often, the blooms turn the water a deep red. Greetings! Today I’d like to talk about something called Red tide, which can be very lethal to us manatees. Red tide occurs when algae in the water begins growing out of control. This…
The West Indian Manatee Manatees are currently listed as endangered, meaning that we are currently in danger of extinction. The following are 9 dangerous threats that manatees face everyday… Cold Weather – In Florida during the winter months when it has been colder than normal, an increase in manatee deaths is common. Why? Because we…
It’s time to celebrate again! Watercraft collisions with manatees are down this season! Our manatee season closed on March 31st when the slow-speed zones for us ended. We’re now heading out into the open waters eating seagrass and enjoying much larger real estate to swim in! The slow-speed zones will go into effect again on…
