Manatee Gathering at Florida Park | 07 Feb 2024
Blue Spring State Park, Florida, USA reported a gathering of nearly 1,000 manatees. The gathering of manatees may be due to several reasons, like-
- Drop in temperature to 14.1°C, a decline in seagrass (manatees' primary food), due to algae blooms on Florida coast, and to seek protection from watercraft collisions.
- Manatees (sea cows) are typically solitary animals.
- Sea cows, comprising manatees and dugongs, consist of four manatee species and one dugong species, belonging to the herbivorous Dugongidae family.
- Manatees dwell in zones such as the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Amazon, East and West Africa, while dugongs inhabit coastal regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
- IUCN Status: Manatees and dugongs are both are Vulnerable.
- Dugongs: Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Sea cows, comprising manatees and dugongs, consist of four manatee species and one dugong species, belonging to the herbivorous Dugongidae family.
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