The feeding test is one aspect of an emergency response involving both the state and the federal government. Rescuers are trying to find and help as many sick manatees as possible along the east coast. The only wild card in this year`s manatee deaths is red algae blooms in southwest Florida. An estimated 40 manatees have died from the red tide so far this year. A truly unique species of marine mammal lives in Florida`s waterways. The Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, is native to Florida and has existed here for millions of years. Manatees are large, gray tubular marine mammals with leathery skin, mustachioed face, paddle-like fins and tail. The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long. Florida manatees, often called “manatees” because of their grazing habits, can be found throughout the Florida peninsula. After receiving “human food,” a dog may beg for alms, get into trouble, or have digestive problems. The same pattern is even more harmful to wild manatees.

Manatees can lose their fear of people and boats if they learn to associate them with alms. “Tamed” manatees may approach a boat or dock and expect food to be harassed, injured or killed. Also, the foods that humans might give manatees are not part of their natural diet or behavior. The hunger crisis, Rose noted, is confined to a small portion of the Florida coast. Around Tampa Bay, manatees usually have no trouble finding food. McRae was referring to discharges from power plants. More than 1,500 manatees are known to huddle along the Indian River Lagoon at Florida Power & Light Co.`s Port St. John facility during the winter. These herds can put pressure on nearby seagrass beds — which have already shrunk after years of algal blooms — beyond the habitat`s ability to feed as many manatees. The product has cost about $18,000 since December, said Sarah Barrett, an employee of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission involved in the experimental feeding study.

Donations from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida covered most of the costs, she said. The pace of surgery has accelerated since Jan. 20, when the manatees began eating the salad. Manatees traveling north or south stop in the lagoon, he said, and manatees, which normally seek refuge there, could move elsewhere in search of food. But starvation is hard to reverse, and a malnourished manatee might struggle after leaving, getting sick, or dying in another part of the coast. Manatees are protected by federal and state law. These laws make it illegal to feed, harass, stalk, injure or kill manatees. Feeding manatees, giving them water or changing their behavior can be considered a nuisance. Scientists tell people not to feed wildlife because they can make animals sick or cause them to expect an unnatural food source. The same goes for manatees, and trying to feed them as a member of the public could be considered harassment, which is illegal. But it is rare for the Fed or FWC to pursue such fines. The state agency confirmed Thursday that there have been only 14 nationwide warnings this year for harassment of manatees.

This may include feeding endangered species at the federal level. This year, however, no one has been punished for such “harassment,” and FWC was unable to specify Thursday how many of the 14 warnings were about food. None of the warnings came at Brevard, where a third of this year`s manatees died, FWC spokeswoman Shannon Knowles said via email. It would still be illegal for those who do not have permission from the government to feed manatees. A conviction for violating federal wildlife laws is punishable by fines of up to $100,000 and/or one year in jail. Researchers still don`t know if and how many manatees could have been saved by lettuce. In the coming months, they will continue to monitor the behavior of animals and try to determine the effectiveness of feeding effort. Federal wildlife officials are taking “unprecedented” steps to slow record mortality of Florida manatees: they will feed endangered species in a limited trial to help them survive the winter months. The Conservation Commission`s latest mortality rate showed that as of Jan. 28, 97 manatees had been found dead in Florida, well above average for that period before death began in 2020. The state had recorded 20 manatee rescues as of Feb. 4.

Mortality statistics are released once a week, and those numbers were not updated Wednesday morning. Manatee disaster: Florida manatees die in record numbers and it`s a man-made disaster Researchers say manatees are suffering because they can`t find enough seaweed to eat in a portion of the Indian River lagoon off Brevard County that has been decimated by algal blooms. Manatees reach sexual maturity in 3-5 years (females) and 5-7 years (males) and can live in captivity for more than 65 years. The gestation period is about 13 months and usually a calf is born. The calf can stay with its mother (cow) up to 2 years. Male manatees (bulls) do not belong to the family unit. Bulls leave a cow alone after its breeding season. Of the wild manatees that reach adulthood, only about half are expected to survive to 20 years.

Manatees are herbivores, feeding on aquatic vegetation such as seagrass beds and other submerged, swimmering, and emerging plants.