Manatee Junction^TM

Sirenia Vitals & Statistics

Population continued

1995 Mortality Rate: What is most disturbing to manatee fans is the drastic increase in mortality that has occurred recently. In 1995 over 201 manatee deaths were recorded. This is an increase over the 1994 mortality rate of 193.

This is the worst recorded mortality rate since 1990 when Florida experienced sever weather conditions (45 deaths were attributed to this weather). In the '95 mortality numbers are some trends that are making researchers uncomfortable. Prenatal deaths increased and reached an all time high. Deaths in the "undetermined" category also increased by a large percentage. The only bright spot appears to be the decreased mortality rate due to humans. However, it may be premature to cheer as some of the deaths in the "undetermined" category could be human-related. Conditions of the carcass' recovered have been too decomposed in many cases to attribute an accurate cause of death.

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