Sharp rise in Florida manatee deaths has state and federal investigators probing
Associated Press
and last updated 2021-04-14 00:37:17-04
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. â They are gentle giants of Florida s ecosystem. The manatee has always been a poster for promoting tourism yet each year protecting this threatened species grows more problematic. I m so distressed so many are dying, said Dr. Edith Widder, Co-Founder of ORCA,
She s heartbroken but not surprised manatees are in the middle of a die-off on Florida s East Coast.
Dr. Widder and her researchers have been collecting samples from the St Lucie River. They re plotting pollution maps to find out what s at the bottom and where it came from.
Officials: Florida panther struck and killed by vehicle
April 13, 2021
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IMMOKALEE, Fla. (AP) An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle.
It’s the eighth panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of 13 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The remains of the 1-year-old female panther were found Saturday in Collier County on a rural road to the south of Immokalee, wildlife officials said.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.
Officials: Florida panther cubs found dead
April 3, 2021
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NAPLES, Fla. (AP) Two endangered Florida panther cubs have been found dead.
They make 12 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remains of a male cub and a female cub, both three months old, were found Thursday on private property in North Belle Meade in Collier County, officials said. The cause of death wasn’t known.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.
With high levels of red tide measured at times all year farther south, it was reported near Sarasota County. FWC says it's hard to predict if it will move north.
Florida Manatees Are Starving to Death Amid Fears They Could Be Wiped Out From Lagoon
On 3/12/21 at 10:47 AM EST
West Indian manatees in Florida have been dying at an unprecedented rate over the past few months, with one expert worried that the animals could be wiped out from an important hub the Indian River Lagoon by the end of the year.
At least 432 manatees have died in the state so far this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). This stands in stark contrast to the 637 manatee deaths in all of 2020 and the annual average of 578 deaths between 2016 and 2020.