2011 Second-Highest Year On Record For Florida Manatee Deaths From Cold, Motorboats
ST. PETERSBURG For a third straight year, cold weather and speeding boats took a serious toll on Florida's manatee population, with 2011 racking up the second most manatee deaths on record.
State biologists working for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg reported finding 453 manatee carcasses last year. They documented a record 766 manatee deaths in 2010 and recorded the third-highest total of 429 in 2009.
Manatees are sensitive to cold water. When the temperature drops below 68 degrees, they seek winter refuge in the warmer water flowing from the springs gurgling up from beneath the earth and from power plant outfalls dumping heated water back into a bay or river.
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Boats accounted for 88 of the deaths this past year, which Dewit called high. The number is an increase from 2010, when boats hit and killed 83 manatees. The record for boat-related deaths is 97, set in 2009.
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/article1209071.ece