Officials say Florida plan has fed manatees 25 tons of lettuce
2/16/2022
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The unprecedented human effort to feed starving Florida manatees has so far provided the lovable marine mammals with more than 25 tons of lettuce, officials said Wednesday.
The round-tailed, snout-nosed animals popular with locals and tourists have suffered a major die-off because their preferred seagrass food source is disappearing because of water pollution from agricultural, urban, septic tank and other sources.
Officials say the feeding program involving donated romaine lettuce at a Florida Power & Light plant on the east coast is attracting about 300 to 350 manatees per day. It’s been as many as 800 manatees at times, sometimes less than 60 as they move around the waterways.
Related News
From Archive
Sign up to Receive Our Newsletter
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- NTSB publishes preliminary report on fatal gas pipeline explosion in Lexington, Mo.
- 290-mile gas pipeline expansion proposed across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
- Ditch Witch West sells first Bulldog trencher to speed up undergrounding work along West Coast
- Centuri awarded nearly $400 million for U.S. gas infrastructure work
- Growing Pains and Gains
- Maryland lawmakers push to curb BGE pipeline spending, citing safety and cost concerns
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish
Comments