Inside the War over Florida's
Most Famous Endangered Species

A jaw-dropping record death toll -- from the cold

Posted on Jan. 5, 2011 7:29 p.m.
By Craig Pittman

The scientists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute just released the total number of manatees that died in 2010 -- and it's a jaw-dropping 767.

The previous record, set in 2009, was 429. That year a record 97 were killed by boaters.

But that's not what happened in 2010. Instead, what drove the pace of mortality last year was the dropping mercury. As many as 500 were killed by extremely cold temperatures. Last winter's cold snap killed 244 manatees, and another 35 were killed by the cold last month.

Cold stress also contributed to the deaths of 21 of the 96 manatees in the "perinatal" or "newborn" category. And biologists say the cold temperatures probably contributed to many of the 214 deaths in the "undetermined" category and the 68 deaths in the "unrecovered" category.

The surge in manatee deaths from such a natural cause is reminiscent of the wave of deaths in 1996, which is a major event in "Manatee Insanity." Some 150 manatees died over the course of a few months, their demise a mystery. During a tour of the state's marine mammal pathology lab, then-Gov. Lawton Chiles pointed out the scariest aspect of the deaths: "“The trouble is, even if scientists manage to pin down the cause, they may not be able to do anything about it.”

Eventually the mystery was solved. The culprit: Red Tide. As Chiles had warned, it was something no one could do anything about.

Cold, like Red Tide, is a natural occurrence that can take a toll on wildlife. The natural world is full of such perils, but generally they do not lead to extinction.

What poses a threat to the future of a species is when humans also do things that take a toll on wildlife, on top of what's done by the natural world -- things such as wiping out the mangroves that provide coastal habitat, scraping out the sea grass beds that provide food and shelter, or repeatedly clobbering slow-moving animals with fast-moving boats.<./a>

Prosecuting a manatee killer

Posted on Feb. 3, 2011 8 p.m.
By Craig Pittman

On Wednesday something rare happened in an Orlando federal courtroom: a boater was sentenced for killing a manatee. The defendant, ...

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A jaw-dropping record death toll -- from the cold

Posted on Jan. 5, 2011 7:29 p.m.
By Craig Pittman

The scientists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute just released the total number of manatees that died in ...

Read more

"Manatee Insanity" now "essential" for Floridians

Posted on Aug. 18, 2010 10:56 a.m.
By Craig Pittman

This is big. The Florida Humanities Council has added "Manatee Insanity" to its list of essential Florida books. These are ...

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Reviewer raves about "Manatee Insanity"

Posted on May 9, 2010 10:38 a.m.
By Craig Pittman

"Manatee Insanity" is a "lively account" of a "a complex story" about how law, politics and science have intersected in ...

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Check out the Manatee Insanity Facebook page

Posted on May 6, 2010 9:18 p.m.
By Craig Pittman

Hey, if you're interested in seeing photos and videos that didn't make it into the book and getting personal alerts ...

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