The incident was described as an “unexpected mass death event”, and has caused researchers to sound the alarm.
This winter, large numbers of dead manatees, perhaps best known as manatees, began to wash ashore in Florida. Most disturbing was the presumed cause of death:
Sult.
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– A crisis
Many of the dead manatees were in fact severely emaciated, and this caused the warning lights to flash at the experts.
Now the prevailing theory is that the researchers’ horror scenario has become real, skriver Washington Post.
– We have never seen anything like it before. I think it is entirely justified to call this a crisis. It is not an exaggeration to see hundreds of manatees dying in this way, says Jaclyn Lopez, director of the non-profit organization Center for Biological Diversity, which works to protect endangered species.
The numbers of dead manatees are staggering.
This year alone, at least 761 dead manatees have been registered. That’s as much as ten percent of the estimated population in Florida, and forecasts suggest that more than 1,000 manatees could die this year – at least. In that case, the gloomy record, of 824 registered deaths in 2018, will emphatically stand for fall.
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Have found a possible cause
The cause is believed to be indirect pollution.
A manatee feeds mainly on seagrass, but as a result of pollution in the waters around Florida, more and more of these plants are disappearing.
Especially around one area where many manatees live and stay, almost all the seagrass has disappeared, according to the Washington Post.
This is bad news for manatees – and potentially other animal species.
The manatee is considered to be a so-called “sentinel” species. One canary, if you will.
In the past, canaries were taken to mines, and if the miners saw the bird, there was danger. Because if the “sentinel” species are affected by something, other animals will later also be affected.