Science

Wildlife officials throw 3,000 pounds of lettuce a day into the sea to save starving manatees

Photo by geoff trodd on Unsplash

Manatees, aka "sea cows," are starving to death in Florida so officials are staging an intervention.

Manatees are one of Earth's more oddly beloved creatures . They're cute in a "so ugly they're cute" kind of way, and their bulbous, slowly meandering bodies have earned them the nickname "sea cows." They are a migratory species, and in the U.S. they congregate mainly in the waters of Florida.

Sadly, manatees are also dying at an alarming rate after only being taken off the endangered species list in 2017 . During the first nine months of 2021, nearly 10% of Florida's manatee population died—more than double the five-year average. Many of those deaths were due to water quality issues impacting the growth of seagrass, one of the manatee's primary food sources.

Boat strikes, habitat loss and toxic algae blooms also threaten the species, but far too many are dying of simple starvation. According to WUSF , at least 58% of the seagrass in the northern Indian River Lagoon has been lost since 2009, and at least 96% of the Banana River 's seagrass is gone. Both river habitats have long served as winter homes for manatees.

To help stave off starvation, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have staged a salad intervention of sorts. CNN reports that around 350 manatees are currently coming to a temporary field response station in Cape Canaveral to get their daily servings of romaine and butter lettuce. Since the feeding program started, it has served between 25 and 800 manatees a day.

The sea cows salad bar serves up 3,000 pounds of lettuce a day, and officials say it's helping.

Bravo---more than 50,000 pounds of donated lettuce have been fed to starving Florida manatees to keep them alive this winter, thanks to a program directed by @MyFWC.pic.twitter.com/uIpl9l45Ly
— Lorenzo The Cat (@Lorenzo The Cat) 1645041606

"At this point in time, we have been successful. Manatees are eating the romaine," Ron Mezich of the FWC told CNN . "We are exposing [a] large amount of animals to this food source and we are making a difference." The lettuce has nutrients and digestible carbohydrates the sea cows need, he said.

The program has been funded largely through donations from the public and is slated to continue through March.

Hopefully, the FWC will see improvement in the manatee mortality numbers as a result of its efforts. As of February 11 , there have already been 261 manatee deaths in the state, though most are still awaiting necropsies to determine the cause of death.

Hungry #manatees have eaten 25 TONS of lettuce from an emergency feeding program, started due to declining seagrass ecosystems. \nExperts discourage feeding wild animals, as they will associate humans with food. Instead, consider donating to a manatee org\nhttps://miami.cbslocal.com/2022/02/16/officials-starving-florida-manatees-fed-more-than-25-tons-of-lettuce/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/e0u21TaFU5
— The Miami Foundation (@The Miami Foundation) 1645128035

Everyone can take part in helping these gentle giants have a healthy future by following guidance for wise use of waterways, supporting legislation for wildlife protection, reducing and cleaning up pollution along beaches and waterways and encouraging leaders to take meaningful action on climate change.

Don't try to throw your own salad in the ocean to feed the manatees, though. Officials recommend leaving the lettuce to experts.

From Your Site Articles

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐍𝐘𝐂 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝® (@nycbrunchsquad)

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep Reading Show less

friendship

Joy

Woman who lives on a cruise ship shares the hardest part about her perfect life

She's a little afraid to leave her cabin.

via Christine Kesteloo/TikTok and Cagri Gurbuz/Pexels

Christine Kesteloo has one big problem living on a cruise ship.

A lot of folks would love to trade lives with Christine Kesteloo . Her husband is the Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, so she gets to live on the boat pretty much for free as the “wife on board.” For Christine, life is a lot like living on a permanent vacation.

“I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband, and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider. “After all, I don't cook, clean, make my bed, do laundry or pay for food.“

Living an all-inclusive lifestyle seems like paradise, but it has some drawbacks. Having access to all-you-can-eat food all day long can really have an effect on one’s waistline. Kesteloo admits that living on a cruise ship takes a lot of self-discipline because the temptation is always right under her nose.

Keep Reading Show less

cruise ships

Health

Please read this before you post another RIP on social media

There is a hierarchy of grief and it's important to know where you fall on it before posting about someone's death.

Image from GOOD .

Working through grief is a community thing.

Grieving in the technology age is uncharted territory.

I'll take you back to Saturday, June 9, 2012. At 8:20 a.m., my 36-year-old husband was pronounced dead at a hospital just outside Washington, D.C.

By 9:20 a.m., my cellphone would not stop ringing or text-alerting me long enough for me to make the necessary calls that I needed to make: people like immediate family, primary-care doctors to discuss death certificates and autopsies, funeral homes to discuss picking him up, and so on. Real things, important things, time-sensitive, urgent things.

At 9:47 a.m., while speaking to a police officer (because yes, when your spouse dies, you must be questioned by the police immediately), one call did make it through. I didn't recognize the number. But in those moments, I knew I should break my normal rule and answer all calls. "He's dead??? Oh my God. Who's with you? Are you OK? Why am I reading this on Facebook? Taya, what the heck is going on?"

Keep Reading Show less

culture

Wildlife officials throw 3,000 pounds of lettuce a day into the sea to save starving manatees

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

Get this: Van Gogh was a pretty cool artist (duh), but as it turns out...

...he was also A SCIENTIST!*

Here's the story.

~~~TURBULENCE~~~

Thing is, scientists are pretty much *just* starting to figure this stuff out.

Then you've got Van Gogh, 100 years earlier, in his asylum, with a mutilated ear, who totally nailed it!

But did other artists depict turbulence the way Van Gogh did?

Not even "The Scream" could hold a candle to Van Gogh!

Watch the video below to learn even more:

And experimenting with online dating for dogs and cats might just be working.

An estimated 50 million people worldwide use Tinder. So LifeLine and other shelters and rescues figure why not give it a shot?

Animal profiles are also showing up on Bumble, which is home to another 20 million users or so.

Like sweet Duke here.

Each pet is assigned to a volunteer who creates the profile and handles the conversations after a match

For LifeLine, the experiment is still new. But Hirsch says people are responding to it incredibly well so far.

This new animal dating idea has another upside for apps — and the people using them, too.

She's a little afraid to leave her cabin.

There is a hierarchy of grief and it's important to know where you fall on it before posting about someone's death.

Grieving in the technology age is uncharted territory.

While I can in no way speak for the entire planet, I certainly feel qualified to propose some suggestions — or, dare I say, rules — for social media grieving.

There is a hierarchy of grief.

In the days before social media, these expressions came in the form of phone calls, voicemail messages, and floral deliveries.

Please give us a minute.

Do you get where I'm going with this?

Your love and expressions of support are appreciated and needed, but they can also be ill-timed and create unintended additional stress.

Few gifts are greater than having your final wish granted.

Before 54-year-old Mario passed away, he had one special goodbye he needed to say ... to his favorite giraffe.

The Ambulance Wish Foundation , a Dutch nonprofit, helps people like Mario experience one final request.

Even more beautiful than the work this organization does, though, are the things its patients are asking for.

Sometimes it feels like there's never enough time. Not in a day. Not in a year. Not in a life.

A victory for America.

~TURBULENCE~

Thing is, scientists are pretty much just starting to figure this stuff out.