MANATEE

Not many boaters were on the water on Wednesday, but that will change this weekend.Local law enforcement agencies are bringing awareness to boating safety and manatee safety as the summer boating season approaches.

Florida motorists had more than 1.99 million specialty license plates as of last week.

Who doesn’t love the zoo, right?

More than 520 Florida manatees have died so this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The manatee deaths so far for 2022 have reached another grim milestone.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking Florida residents and visitors to help keep manatees safe, especially while out on the water.

It’s the second boat strike case the zoo has seen this week.

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens released a male manatee Wednesday in Salt Springs Recreation Area. He spent almost three months in rehabilitation and is the 22nd release from the Manatee Critical Care Center.

The situation is threatening a number of species, including manatees, who depend on seagrass for food. AdAn expert who has spent 40 years studying manatees in Central Florida said dead manatees are being found with nearly nothing in their stomachs. Essentially, it’s an emergency.”Rose and others blame the seagrass loss for a spike in manatee deaths this winter. In all of 2020, there were 637 manatee deaths across Florida. The Indian River Lagoon system stretches 165 miles from Volusia County south to Port St. Lucie.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We’re a week into 2021, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has released its preliminary report for manatee deaths in the state during 2020. The preliminary report stated that there were 619 manatee deaths around the state. The Jacksonville Zoo is part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, which includes zoos, aquariums, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal agencies. “Most common cause of admittance to the critical care here has been cold stress in 2020,” said Jafarey. The main cases seen in this area that go to the critical care center are boat strikes and cold stress.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A female manatee named Lusia was released near Halifax Harbor Marina on Thursday after her rehabilitation at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Manatee Critical Care Center. The manatee was rescued on Aug. 22, 2020, with injuries that indicated a boat strike. After some care from the critical care team and some rest, staff was ready to send her home. RELATED | Manatee on the mend at Jacksonville ZooThe manatee’s final weight was 713 pounds upon load-in on Thursday. She also had a couple of fractures of her ribs, and the reason that they picked her up is because she had some air in her thorax that made her buoyant on one side,” Allison Peterson, a veterinarian at the Jacksonville Zoo, said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A female manatee was rescued Aug. 22 in Daytona Beach after an apparent boat strike. The marine mammal was brought to the Manatee Critical Care Center at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to recover from her injuries. The zoo staff is cautiously optimistic that she will recover within a few weeks and theyre continuing a daily treatment plan to help her heal. Our treatment plan includes some pain medication. Its also important to remember that come fall, its likely that youll see a manatee in the water since theyll be on the move for warmer waters.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While there currently isn’t a high number of manatees in Jacksonville, there will be in April as the waters warm up. The manatee population is on the rise, and wildlife officials predict there will be a healthy number this summer. In 2017, the Florida manatee was reclassified from an endangered to a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. While the population is doing well right now, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a record number of manatees were killed last year by Florida boaters. For information on the Florida manatee and conservation efforts, click here.