Florida Scientists Say Manatee Die-Off Over

As suddenly as it began, an unexplained die-off of manatees in southwest Florida appears to have ended.

Scientists from the Florida Marine Research Institute began packing up Monday to leave their makeshift morgue here.

They had set up shop at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to better handle the number of carcasses found last week off Charlotte and Lee counties. They worked 12 hours a day performing necropsies.

Since March 5, 52 manatees have died in the area. Recent state aerial surveys have counted only 2,600 of the endangered mammals.

“What we’re seeing now is definitely the greatest single mortality of manatees that we’ve ever recorded,” said Ken Haddad, chief of the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

Scott Wright, the chief scientist at the marine mammal laboratory, said most of the manatees died of a respiratory illness.

“I have no doubt it’s pneumonia,” Wright said. “What we have to figure out is what type--what caused it.”

However, researchers say the deaths are probably not linked to red tide, a naturally occurring microorganism that releases toxins which could damage a manatee’s lungs.

Last year, 201 manatee deaths were reported in Florida, mostly as a result of boat propellers.

So far this year, 133 manatees have died.