Hungry Manatees To Feed On Lettuce Again This Winter: Reports

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Florida wildlife officials will feed manatees lettuce again this winter in an effort to curb starvation amid a recent and ongoing increase in deaths, according to multiple reports citing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In 2021, an unusual mortality event was declared in Florida due to an increase in manatee deaths caused by a lack of food, WFLA reported.

This year, plans are being finalized to resume the experimental lettuce-feeding program at a warm-water power plant near Cape Canaveral, according to The Associated Press. The program was launched last year after a record 1,100 manatees died in 2021.

Last year, about 202,000 pounds of lettuce was fed to manatees gathered there after the weather turned colder, The AP reported. The cost of the lettuce was $116,865, paid for almost entirely by donations, WFLA reported.

Ron Mezich, joint unified command provisioning branch chief for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told WFLA he hopes the program is only a temporary solution as wildlife officials work to restore seagrass beds.

“It worked really well last year," Mezich told The AP. "We hope this is never a permanent situation. We don’t want to have to feed wild populations."

Despite the program, it is illegal at the state and federal level for residents and visitors of Florida to feed manatees.