PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla — Concerned beachgoers caused an influx of 911 calls after seeing what they thought were manatees in distress – turns out the manatees were just mating.
The sheriff’s office posted a short video on their Facebook page assuring beachgoers that the manatees “are more than fine.”
Deputies wrote that the manatees often come closer to the shore to mate in herds.
“They mate all through the year but generally mating herds like these are seen in the summer months,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the video’s caption. “If you see this [mating herds], there’s no need to call, they are a-okay.”
The public probably should be encouraging the herd's efforts as a record number of 1,101 manatees were confirmed dead in 2021 — an all-time high — largely attributed to a lack of seagrass food due to pollution
The FWC reported 800 manatee deaths for 2022, and so far for 2023, there have been 378 deaths.
Manatees are protected by state and federal law, making it illegal to feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy or molest manatees, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Violations range from fines up to $500 or 60 days imprisonment at the state level and fines up to $100,000 or a year in prison at the federal level.
Anyone who sees a manatee appearing to be injured or deceased is asked to call the FWC's wildlife alert hotline at 1-888-404-3922.
