© Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP/Getty Images
A manatee swims in a recovery pool in Tampa, Florida.
A manatee swims in a recovery pool in Tampa, Florida.
The 749 fatalities recorded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to 21 May surpassed 637 from the whole of 2020, the agency said. The total is on course to exceed the high of 804, set in 2018.
The dying off of substantial areas of seagrass, the favoured food source for the slow-moving aquatic mammals, has caused starvation. The situation has been exacerbated by the recurrence of inland blue-green algal blooms and phytoplankton blooms in Florida waterways.
Offshore, the recent leak and discharge of toxic wastewater into Tampa Bay from the abandoned Piney Point fertilizer plant and the return of the red tide algal menace has poisoned waters. FWC says 12 manatee deaths so far this year were from confirmed or suspected red tide blooms, but the real figure could be far higher because not every dead manatee is necropsied.
Comment: Erratic seasons, extreme weather events and overall global cooling are signs that something much greater is afoot on our planet:
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- Highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak already reported in 46 countries, has spread to humans with 862 cases
- UK's mild winter disrupting animal hibernation and insect behavior
- Extreme weather & disease: The fight to save Europe's olive trees
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