Manatee viewing at Blue Spring has visitors lined up for miles
ORANGE CITY, Fla. — Tuesday at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, the line of cars to see the natural phenomenon was at least a mile long. And thanks to the colder weather, manatees have also flocked to the springs to keep warm. The St. Johns River is sitting around 50 degrees, forcing the manatees to swim to Blue Spring, where the water is 72 degrees. For visitors like the Beaudin family, the manatees were easy to notice at Blue Spring State Park. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Blue Spring manatee viewing Blue Spring manatee viewingClick here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
wftv.comConcerns grow over Florida’s manatee population after recent cold snap
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Wildlife crews are making sure Florida’s manatee population is safe after the recent cold snap. In South Florida, some “sea cows” were seen gathered in warm water near a power plant in West Palm Beach. Read: Manatees huddle together as the cold weather moves through FloridaWarm water is crucial for the creatures to survive and thrive. The manatee protections include “no-entry” zones to keep boats out of the warm waters that attract manatees in the winter. Read: Florida manatee feeding program restarts to help ease starvation crisis, wildlife officials sayThe protections come after the state partnered with the U.S.
wftv.comWildlife officials to boaters: Remember not to hit any manatees this holiday weekend
Memorial Day weekend is considered by some to be the unofficial start of summer and, by no coincidence, a great time to get back in the water. Unfortunately, according to conservationists and wildlife officials, manatees have similar plans.
55 tons of lettuce fed to Florida's starving manatees
The experimental program to feed Florida manatees starving because water pollution is destroying their natural food has topped 55 tons of lettuce, wildlife officials said Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) (Rebecca Blackwell)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — (AP) — More than 55 tons of lettuce have been fed to starving Florida manatees as part of an experimental program to help the slow-moving marine mammals since their natural food is being destroyed by water pollution, wildlife officials said Wednesday. “That's a substantial amount,” said Ron Mezich, feeding program coordinator for the Florida wildlife commission. “We're not solving the seagrass issue in a year," said Tom Reinert of the Florida wildlife commission. Officials say most distressed manatees in Florida are reported by people who spot them and call a state hotline at 888-404-3922.
wftv.comMunching manatees seen eating food provided by Florida wildlife officials
A program to feed manatees facing starvation in Florida is starting to show some positive results. Manatee feeding stations have been placed around the state, but the marine mammals were not showing much interest. READ: ‘It’s heartbreaking’: What’s being done to curb record manatee deathsOn Friday, officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife shared video of manatees using the stations to eat lettuce that was given to them. FWC teams found groups of munching manatees eating the vegetation that was provided to them for the first time on Thursday. Florida state and federal law makes it illegal for people to feed manatees on their own.
wftv.comManatee feeding experiment starts slowly as cold looms
An unprecedented, experimental attempt to feed manatees facing starvation in Florida has started slowly but wildlife officials expressed optimism it will work as cold weather drives the marine mammals toward warmer waters. That brought about the lettuce feeding program, part of a joint manatee death response group led by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. “We expect that to happen.”In addition to the feeding experiment, officials are working with a number of facilities to rehabilitate distressed manatees that are found alive. It's been a huge amount of work to date.”There are a minimum of 7,520 manatees in Florida waters currently, according to state statistics. That's better than feeding manatees personally, which does more harm than good because the animals will associate humans with food, according to officials.
wftv.comWildlife officials, FPL create temporary field response station to address manatee deaths
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) (Lynne Sladky)BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Wildlife officials and Florida Power & Light Company created a temporary field response station in an effort to address the unusual manatee mortality event along Florida’s Atlantic coast. The response station will support several unusual manatee mortality event response operations already underway in the central Indian River Lagoon, such as manatee rescues, carcass recovery, and limited field health assessments, wildlife officials said. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they also approved staff to conduct a short-term feeding trial, referred to by many as supplemental feeding. READ: Brevard Zoo collecting donations to establish dedicated manatee rescue teamThe goal of the feeding trial is to reduce manatee mortality and to reduce the number of animals in need of rescue, officials said. The goal of this action is to reduce manatee mortality.
wftv.comTest feeding plan in works for starving Florida manatees
Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan. Fish and Wildlife Service and state environmental officials intend to unveil a limited proposal this week to feed the beloved marine mammals in one specific Florida location to test how it works. The club was co-founded in 1981 by Florida troubadour Jimmy Buffet and former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. The emerging plan would involve feeding manatees at a Florida Power & Light plant in Cape Canaveral, along the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast where manatees congregate in cold winter months because of the warm water discharge from the plant. “Under no circumstances do we want people feeding manatees.
wftv.comTest feeding plan in works for starving Florida manatees
Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan. Fish and Wildlife Service and state environmental officials intend to unveil a limited proposal this week to feed the beloved marine mammals in one specific Florida location to test how it works. The club was co-founded in 1981 by Florida troubadour Jimmy Buffet and former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. The emerging plan would involve feeding manatees at a Florida Power & Light plant in Cape Canaveral, along the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast where manatees congregate in cold winter months because of the warm water discharge from the plant. “Under no circumstances do we want people feeding manatees.
wftv.comTest feeding plan in works for starving Florida manatees
Dying Manatees FILE - A manatee comes up for air is it swims in the Stranahan River, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 2, 2020. More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida so far in 2021, eclipsing a previous record as the threatened marine mammals struggle with starvation due to polluted waters. The club was co-founded in 1981 by Florida troubadour Jimmy Buffet and former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. The emerging plan would involve feeding manatees at a Florida Power & Light plant in Cape Canaveral, along the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast where manatees congregate in cold winter months because of the warm water discharge from the plant. “Under no circumstances do we want people feeding manatees.
wftv.comUnprecedented feeding plan mulled for dying Florida manatees
Dying Manatees FILE - A manatee comes up for air is it swims in the Stranahan River, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 2, 2020. More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida so far in 2021, eclipsing a previous record as the threatened marine mammals struggle with starvation due to polluted waters. The club was co-founded in 1981 by Florida troubadour Jimmy Buffet and former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. The emerging plan would involve feeding manatees at a Florida Power & Light plant in Cape Canaveral, along the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast where manatees congregate in cold winter months because of the warm water discharge from the plant. “Under no circumstances do we want people feeding manatees.
wftv.comFlorida tops 1,000 manatee deaths in grim single-year record
Dying Manatees FILE - A manatee comes up for air is it swims in the Stranahan River, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 2, 2020. More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida so far in 2021, eclipsing a previous record as the threatened marine mammals struggle with starvation due to polluted waters. The 1,003 manatee deaths so far in 2021 is many more than the 637 recorded last year and well above the previous mark of 830 set in 2013. "Manatees are in serious trouble," ZooTampa at Lowry Park, one of four main manatee critical care centers in Florida, said in a statement Wednesday. The wildlife commission estimates there are currently about 7,500 manatees, also known as sea cows, living in Florida waters.
wftv.comFor the love of god stop killing Florida's manatees
click to enlarge screengrab via Save the Manatees/YouTubeHey, Florida boaters: stop. Please just stop. Stop mowing down our plump, precious sea cow friends every time you want to go out for a cruise.Just the other day, the beloved Dix was struck and killed at Blue Springs State Park. There had only been 59 manatees deaths caused by watercraft in the same time period last year.The population numbers for manatees are improving. Manatees were recently downgraded from endangered to threatened, but we have to keep protecting Florida's favorite marine mammal if we want it to stay that way.
orlandoweekly.comBeloved Central Florida manatee Dix found dead after watercraft collision
click to enlarge screengrab via Save the Manatees/YouTubeDix the manatee, one of the stars of Blue Spring State Park, was recently found dead in DeLand, just north of the springs.After assessing her injuries, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that she died from an acute watercraft collision.Dix rose to fame by bringing three calves into the Blue Spring area, fearlessly hanging around an alligator, and being an overall friendly creature adored by visitors and locals alike.The death of this popular manatee highlights an escalating problem: More manatees than usual are getting struck and killed by boats.According to the FWC, Volusia County has the third highest watercraft-related manatee death rate in Florida, behind only Lee and Broward counties. Over 120 manatees died because of collisions in 2018, according to the FWCs manatee mortality report "The number of manatees getting hit by boats this year has really gone up. Overall, we had 300 manatees being killed this year, and out of those, 81 of those manatees were killed by boats," Cora Bercham of the Save the Manatee Club said to Spectrum News As manatee populations increase in Blue Spring and surrounding areas, watercraft-related manatee deaths also increase, according to Berchem. Summer is when manatees migrate, so they are not as concentrated in springs as they are during manatee season.
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