Wildlife Officials in Struggle To Save Starving Manatees in Florida

State and federal wildlife officials are continuing to feed some of Florida’s starving manatees with about 10 tons of romaine lettuce per week at a feeding station in the middle of the state’s Atlantic coastline.
But, they said on Jan. 11, the population of the state’s iconic sea cows isn’t out of danger yet from what’s called the Unusual Mortality Event (UME).
The feeding of wild manatees began last winter, as officials desperately tried to find a way to stave off starvation for as many of the animals as possible.
The biggest problem threatening the gentle mammals is a massive die-off of seagrasses in the inland waterways along Florida’s eastern edge….