Lethargic Manatee Rescued From Sarasota Waters: FWC

SARASOTA, FL — After responding to reports of “a lone, thin, lethargic manatee,” rescuers pulled the ailing animal from waters off Sarasota on Thursday, Carly Jones, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, told Patch.

After assessing the male manatee, the rescue team determined that he was “mildly cold stressed,” she said.

Once rescued, the manatee was brought to ZooTampa for rehabilitation.

Manatees typically live in warm water habitats and can’t tolerate cold water below 68 degrees, according to the FWC’s website. As temperatures drop, they migrate to warmer waters during colder months, including warm water springs and waters artificially warmed by power plants or energy center outfalls.

The Florida manatee is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to the Marine Mammal Commission.

Since 2020, the state has seen a high number of manatee deaths and rescues, largely because of environmental conditions in their natural habitats, FWC said. The agency continues to investigate these mortalities while focusing on habitat restoration and supplemental feeding trials.

In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $30 million from the state budget will be used to enhance manatee rescue and rehabilitation in Florida.

About 800 manatees died in the state in 2022, according to data from the FWC. A dozen of these deaths are attributed to cold stress.

So far in 2023, 79 manatee deaths have been reported in Florida — 10 of them because of cold stress — data shows.

Anyone who sees a sick, injured or dead manatee is asked to call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.