Detectors for Canal Gates May Prevent Killing of Manatees

American engineers have developed manatee detectors to save the endangered aquatic mammals from being killed in the locks and gates of Florida’s canals and waterways. According to the July 18 issue of New Scientist, engineers from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Fla., designed two types of detectors that will halt the moving gates and allow the animals to pass unharmed.

Sixteen manatees were killed by closing gates in Florida in 1994. The state is their main habitat, but fewer than 3,000 of the endangered species live in Florida waterways.