South Florida residents were shocked to discover a manatee swimming in a man-made lake last week, as biologists theorize about how the animal ended up so far from home.
A resident captured video of the animal swimming in a lake west of Fort Lauderdale last week, about 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, where the species normally resides.
Biologists have speculated that the manatee left the coast using underground passages to reach Pembroke Pines Lake in search of food and warm, shallow waters.
Manatees have had a hard time finding food in recent years, and because they can survive in fresh, brackish and salt water, they can travel hundreds of miles from home to find sustenance.
Manatees, also called sea cows, can migrate hundreds of miles from the Florida coast in search of food.
Manatees have had a hard time finding food in recent years, and because they can survive in fresh, brackish and salt water, they can travel hundreds of miles from home to find sustenance.
Manatees, also known as sea cows, can grow up to 13 feet long, weigh more than 3,000 pounds and can reach bodies of water such as lakes and ponds by traveling through storm drains and nearby canals.
Although these connecting passageways cannot be seen on a map, Amber Howell, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told Business Insider There are large pipes called culverts under the roads.
“The culverts in this area are large enough for a manatee to swim through safely,” he said.
There is a floodgate they would normally have had to go through, but it is usually left open during Florida’s rainy season, which lasts from May to October.
“I grew up with manatees,” said Bill Barnett, a Pembroke Pines resident who saw the animal. WPLG Local 10He added: “This is the first time we’ve seen one in the lake. I’ve been here for about 15 years.”
Another resident, Myriam Schenk, told the outlet she had also witnessed the manatee.
“I saw the face and said, ‘What is this?’ I started recording a video and said, ‘This is a manatee!’
According to Local 10, the lake contains fish and turtles, but is not native to the manatee.
A resident captured video of the manatee swimming in Pembroke Pines Lake last week, about 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean where the species typically resides.
The manatee, Florida’s official state freshwater mammal, is classified as a threatened species that is becoming extinct due to a dwindling food supply.
The decline is due in part to algae blooms that are killing the seagrass meadows that serve as the manatee’s primary food source along with other vegetation such as submerged and floating plants.
Manatees typically spend up to eight hours a day eating marine vegetation and can consume between four and nine percent of their body weight daily.
Algal blooms, also known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), in the Atlantic Ocean include phytoplankton that can cloud the water and limit the amount of sunlight reaching seagrass meadows, damaging vegetation and hindering new growth.
Some harmful algal blooms are also toxic to manatees if ingested, such as the microalgae Karenia brevis, which is common in Florida and caused the deaths of about 123 manatees between November 2022 and June 2023.
The manatee, Florida’s official state freshwater mammal, is classified as a threatened species that is becoming extinct due to a declining food supply. The decline is due, in part, to algae blooms that are killing the seagrass meadows that serve as the manatee’s primary food source along with other vegetation such as submerged and floating plants.
Outside of the winter months, the animals tend to travel Florida’s waterways to search for food, mates and a shallow place to rest, sometimes traveling dozens of miles to reach a new area.
Earlier this year, another manatee traveled more than 100 miles from the ocean to reach Lake Apopka in Oakland, Florida.
However, this is not the first time the sea cow has been seen in Pembroke Pines Lake, as there is another reported by the local police department in 2021.
At the time, the Pembroke Pines Police Department posted a video of the manatee and asked residents and visitors to “be respectful of our native wildlife.”
‘Under Florida law, it is illegal to feed, harass, harm, chase or disturb a manatee. Enjoy it from a distance.’
State wildlife officials eventually had to rescue the animal because it was underweight and swimming erratically, but biologists told Local 10 the lake’s new resident appears to be healthy and has access to plenty of food.
“There’s a lot of coastal vegetation in this area, which they will take advantage of,” Howell told BI, adding that there is “absolutely no concern” for the manatee’s well-being.
Florida residents who want to report seeing a manatee that appears to be in distress can call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
