During two cold snaps late last month, biologists conducted a manatee count in the warmer power plant discharge waters on both coasts of the state.
According to a press release from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials reported a preliminary count of 4,831 manatees.
That number’s pretty high, considering.
Gil McRae with the FWC said in a statement they were “encouraged by the relatively high count, especially given the high number of manatee deaths documented recently.”
FWC manatee biologist Holly Edwards said it’s important to remember, though, these cold snap counts tend to under count Florida’s manatee population.
“Even though it’s not a population estimate, it does give somewhat of a ballpark to go with,” she said. “It certainly wouldn’t be encouraging if we got out there and didn’t count very many. So, at least it tells us that we have a substantial number of animals still out there that are alive.”
Toxic algae blooms on the west coast and unknown diseases on the east coast killed a record number of manatees last year. More than 800 manatees, which is about 16 percent of an estimated population of 5,000 manatees, died in 2013.
Biologists will use this year’s aerial survey, along with manatee survival and reproductive rates, to update that population estimate.
