Endangered status sought for manatees as hundreds starve

By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Manatees that are dying by the hundreds mainly from pollution-caused starvation in Florida should once again be listed as an endangered species. Environmental groups said Monday in a petition filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it was an error to take manatees off the endangered list in 2017, leaving the slow-moving marine mammals listed only as threatened. Under the Endangered Species Act, species are considered endangered if they are in danger of extinction. State statistics show a record 1,100 manatees died in 2021 mainly from starvation. This year, at least 736 manatee deaths were reported as of Nov. 11.