Environmental Groups Seek , to Have Manatees Returned , to Endangered Status.
On November 21, environmental groups
warned that manatees are dying by the hundreds
mainly as a result of pollution-driven starvation.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking to have
the animal once again listed as an endangered species. .
'The Independent' reports that
according to the group, the manatee
being taken off the list in 2017 was an error. .
The Fish and Wildlife Service now has
the opportunity to correct its mistake and
protect these desperately imperiled animals, Ragan Whitlock, Attorney for the Florida-based Center for Biological Diversity, via 'The Independent'.
The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff,
leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and
increased development has caused algae blooms. .
The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff,
leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and
increased development has caused algae blooms. .
These algae blooms have killed a majority of
the seagrass on which manatees depend on
to survive, particularly off of Florida's east coast.
In 2021, a record 1,100 manatees died from starvation,
representing 13% of all manatees estimated
to dwell in the waters surrounding Florida.
So far in 2022, at least 736 manatee deaths
had been reported as of November 11. .
'The Independent' reports that putting the manatee back
on the endangered list would bolster federal scrutiny, while also
providing more resources and expertise to help the problem. .
Re-designating manatees
as endangered will be a critical
first step in righting a terrible wrong, Patrick Rose, Executive director of the Save
the Manatee Club, via 'The Independent'