HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — Around the same time a record number of manatees huddled together for warmth at the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center, a concerning uptick of manatee deaths was happening further north in Hernando County.
Since January, at least five adult manatees have been found dead in the Mud River area in Hernando County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The first dead manatee was found on Jan. 5.
The FWC is currently investigating but says officers have an idea what's causing this mortality spike.
A spokesperson with the FWC said initial information gathered through necropsies points to something called acute lethal gut shock as the cause.
The FWC says acute lethal gut shock is a naturally occurring deadly disease that has been documented in other parts of Florida and affects manatees when there is a "sudden diet shift to macroalgae" that can cause "severe disruption of the gut flora."
The FWC says its investigation is ongoing and will take a least a month to complete. Additional testing is being done to explore or rule out other less likely causes for the deaths, including contaminants.
So far this year, 83 manatees have been found dead with the most in Lee and Citrus counties, data from the FWC shows.
Back in January, a record-setting 1,100 manatees gathered at the TECO Manatee Viewing Center at the same time. That eclipsed the previous record of 850 set last winter, Tampa Electric said at the time.
The FWC says it continues to respond to the ongoing unusual mortality event (UME) plaguing Florida's beloved manatees. The UME began in 2021 when 1,100 manatees died — the most ever recorded in a single year.
If you see a marine mammal in distress, including manatees, the FWC urges you to call its Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-3922 and press No. 7 to speak to an operator.
And, as a reminder, "never push back a stranded marine mammal back out to sea if found stranded on the beach," the FWC said.