You ’d be intemperately press to say a bad word against a manatee . These soothing , sentient beings have a calming fashion about them , living out their days chewing on aquatic flora and falter their way through the Ethel Waters of the US , as well as central and South America . peaceful and gentle creature they may be , butstatisticsfrom Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission appear to show manatees in the region are apparently under attack , with more than 700 Trichechus manatus already dying in Florida this yr – more than double the annual average .
2018 holds the track record for Trichechus manatus demise with804 recorded , but that was for the whole year , and just 6 months into 2021 , 749 manatees have died .
Exactly what is devastating the already skin population of Florida manatees ( Trichechus manatus latirostris ) is n’t yet known for sealed . While these beast have come under attack from humans , with one earlier this twelvemonth having“Trump ” etched into its back , it ’s likely that a change of factor are at play in their demise . Florida manatees are afforded special protection owing to their vulnerability as both a threatened and slow - displace ( i.e. wanton to access ) animal . These soft colossus are protected under the1972 US Marine Mammal Protection Act , the 1973 US Endangered Species Act , and the 1978 Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act , and as such intervene with them carries a heavy punishment .
An investigation is currently afoot to attempt and ascertain some actionable answers to why they are dying at what looks like a phonograph record - breaking rate in 2021 , with fears mounting over what this event might think for the survival of the mintage .
One threat facing these veggie - loving animals is that their pet snack , seagrass , is rapidly disappear . Blooms of alga are thought to be responsible , a common occurrence in areas where USDA and other anthropogenic activeness contribute to a stiletto heel in sure nutrients in the watercourse . Such prime can result to eutrophication as the deep lusterlessness of alga block out sunlight and use up oxygen threaten both animal and plant life life .
Boat dealings leading tovessel strikesis another job for these great but amazingly hard to spot ( from the surface ) brute . It ’s also think that the use of pesticide containingglyphosatemay be foul the waterways and having a damaging impingement on the endurance of single manatee .
With the decease mounting up so rapidly in just the first one-half of 2021 , it ’s presently estimated that around 1,000 creature could break across the course of the yr . With just7,500thought to be animated in the wild , that ’s a ruinous loss to species already grappling with its survival . Beyond drop off a magnetic species in this part of the world , Florida Trichechus manatus ' extinction could have a knock - on effect on the eternal rest of the ecosystem , destabilise the inter - specific relationships that keep the fresh water habitats in balance .
