Dead Manatee Found Decaying Along Manatee River: Bradenton Police

BRADENTON, FL — A dead, decaying manatee was found along the shore of the Manatee River Friday morning ahead of the Bradenton Area River Regatta, Bradenton police wrote in a Facebook post.

Officers contacted animal care specialists with The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature’s Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat, who responded to help with the removal of the 500-pound female manatee.

Members of the Bradenton Fire Department also responded to help remove the animal’s body, which was brought to Mote Marine Laboratory.

A necropsy will determine the manatee’s cause of death, though it’s possible it suffered from cold stress, which is usually seen in smaller manatees during the winter, police said.

Those who see an injured manatee can call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hotline at 1-888-404-3922 or dial *FWC on a cell phone.