Officials: Florida plan has fed manatees 25 tons of lettuce

By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The unprecedented human effort to feed starving Florida manatees has so far provided the lovable marine mammals with more than 25 tons of lettuce. The round-tailed, snout-nosed animals popular with locals and tourists have suffered a major die-off because their preferred seagrass food source is disappearing due to water pollution from agricultural, urban and other sources. Officials said Wednesday the feeding program involving donated romaine lettuce at a Florida Power & Light plant on the east coast is attracting about 300 to 350 manatees per day. It’s been as many as 800 manatees at times. This year about 164 manatee deaths have been recorded, most from starvation.