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Manatee feeding project ends as season changes

Manatee
Posted at 5:53 AM, Apr 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-01 06:09:50-04

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — After 3 months, the feeding by the Fish & Wildlife Commission and their partners is coming to an end.

The reason being is that the manatees are no longer limited to the warm water pockets caused by winter.

During those winter months, the seagrass dies out, leaving the Manatees with a limited amount of food.

The program has worked, because we have seen 100 fewer manatee deaths this year than we saw last year.

But that number is still too high.

A majority of manatee deaths take place on the east coast.

But this year, Southwest Florida still saw some numbers.

25 died in Lee County, 3 died in Charlotte County, and 2 died in Collier County.

FWC said the experimental plan has had some success.

They dumped out 201,000 pounds of produce at a cost of more than $105,000.

They will detail their findings next week.