Poor water quality, careless boaters, and MAGA morons carving "Trump" on manatees kill around 10% of their dwindling population each year. Environmentalists paint a bleak picture, and this Orlando Sentinel article leaves me feeling like the manatees are doomed unless something big changes.
"The true impact on the manatee population is likely even greater than the shocking death toll we're seeing," Bennett said. "For every recorded death, there are an unknown number of manatees who are sick or have died and simply not been found. This includes breeding-aged females who have died or had reduced reproductive capacity, and also orphaned manatees."
Rose said the state is ramping up environmental restoration and abilities to respond to stricken manatees, but the overall effort is a fraction of what's needed.
"They are all helping to make some difference to help make us feel better," Rose said. "The real true hope is we have to improve the water quality."
