Lee, Charlotte and Manatee counties are in the top 10 Florida counties for manatee deaths so far in 2025, a new report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission shows.
The report shows that of the 148 manatees that have died this year in Florida as of Feb. 14, Lee County has had the most with 31 deaths.
Other counties in the top 10 for manatee deaths:
Here are the counties with the most manatee deaths:
Brevard County: 30
Citrus County: 14
Manatee County: 11
Franklin County: 6
Monroe County: 5
Broward County: 4
Charlotte County: 4
Hillsborough County: 4
Martin County: 4
Those numbers are the first time since 2022 that manatee deaths topped 100 for the same time period.
Of the 31 manatees that died in Lee County, 21 deaths were verified but the animals were not necropsied. Natural causes accounted for four deaths, accidents were responsible for three deaths, cold stress killed one manatee, one death was listed as perinatal and one was listed as other.
In 2024 565 manatee deaths were reported in Florida, 555 in 2023, 800 in 2022, 1,100 in 2021 and 637 in 2020.
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