WaterNotes

2009 was not a good year for the sea cows. The Florida Fish and Widlife Commission released its preliminary report on manatee mortality in state waters today and revealed that the past season had a record high loss of manatees in state waters: 429!
The report briefly breaks down totals with some eye-opening revelations for [...]

It’s been manatee madness lately at WaterNotes and a great question came in to me via email the other day: how many manatees are there left in Florida?
Well. A little over 3,800. That’s the simple answer. The more detailed answer is that the synoptic surveys carried out by the state [...]

Lowry Park Zoo welcomed a brand new manatee calf into the world on Monday. The mother was rescued from the St. Johns River area on May 13th with a pneumothorax and other complications. The cow gave birth before zookeepers arrived at 7am and despite the trauma to Mom the male calf seems to [...]

It’s Endangered Species Day!  Established in 2006 May 15th is a day to emphasize the ongoing attempts to protect endangered species of all kinds and to highlight the success stories while encouraging the public to continue to conserve their populations and the habitats these species need. 
Listed species abound in Florida.  A search of RedList.org using their [...]

Remember the tiny manatee rescue FWCC carried out in the beginning of April? (See We All Know What Spring Means.) Well, the little female is doing well under the watchful eyes of the animal care staff at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. She’s doing so well in fact that they released photos of [...]

Florida runs a monofilament recovery program where PVC tubes are setup near critical points along waterways – mainly docks and other fishing structures – to attempt to get anglers to properly dispose of fishing line. The very nature of the material, both invisible and incredibly strong, makes it incredibly deadly for marine wildlife when [...]

Babies! I’m excited to yet again see the adorable furry faces of lanugo-coated seal pups arriving almost daily. No, they’re not in the lagoon or the Atlantic coastline of Florida, but they are still popping up (popping out, perhaps?) here in the state between all the various marine parks, zoos, and aquariums. [...]