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Florida wildlife officials start program to feed starving manatees

More than 1,000 manatees died in Florida waters in 2021 as water pollution hurt their food supply.

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January 2, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. EST
Manatees crowd together near the warm-water outflows from a power plant in Riviera Beach, Florida, in February. More than 1,000 of the animals died in 2021. Some died by being stuck by boats, but others died of starvation. Business and government officials are collaborating on a program to feed the manatees this winter. (Greg Lovett/AP)

As winter begins in Florida, a new feeding plan could save many manatees from starvation. But they will still face the long-term threat of man-made water pollution stifling their food supply, wildlife officials said.

The slow-moving marine mammals will soon begin to gather at warm-water sites, such as power plants, as the ocean temperatures cool, and there may not be enough sea grass to sustain them, officials told the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.