Environmental Groups Seek , to Have Manatees Returned , to Endangered Status.<br />On November 21, environmental groups <br />warned that manatees are dying by the hundreds <br />mainly as a result of pollution-driven starvation.<br />The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with <br />the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking to have <br />the animal once again listed as an endangered species. .<br />'The Independent' reports that <br />according to the group, the manatee <br />being taken off the list in 2017 was an error. .<br />The Fish and Wildlife Service now has <br />the opportunity to correct its mistake and <br />protect these desperately imperiled animals, Ragan Whitlock, Attorney for the Florida-based Center for Biological Diversity, via 'The Independent'.<br />The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff, <br />leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and <br />increased development has caused algae blooms. .<br />The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff, <br />leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and <br />increased development has caused algae blooms. .<br /> These algae blooms have killed a majority of <br />the seagrass on which manatees depend on <br />to survive, particularly off of Florida's east coast.<br />In 2021, a record 1,100 manatees died from starvation, <br />representing 13% of all manatees estimated <br />to dwell in the waters surrounding Florida.<br />So far in 2022, at least 736 manatee deaths <br />had been reported as of November 11. .<br />'The Independent' reports that putting the manatee back <br />on the endangered list would bolster federal scrutiny, while also<br />providing more resources and expertise to help the problem. .<br />Re-designating manatees <br />as endangered will be a critical <br />first step in righting a terrible wrong, Patrick Rose, Executive director of the Save <br />the Manatee Club, via 'The Independent'
