In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, manatees Juliet, left, and Phoenix, right, swim at the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Fla. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the manatee should be reclassified as a “threatened” species, which would allow some flexibility for federal officials as the species recovers while maintaining most of the protections afforded to animals listed as endangered. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
ORLANDO, Fla.—The latest official count of manatees shows there are more than 6,200 of the marine mammals in Florida—a record.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Thursday that almost 3,300 were counted on Florida’s east coast, and almost 3,000 manatees were counted on the state’s west coast.
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz) A Manatee is seen at the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit during a media tour ahead of the opening of River Safari at the Singapore Zoo on March 25, 2013 in Singapore.(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Wildlife officials say this year’s count is on par with last year’s count of more than 6,000 manatees.
The counts this year and last year are the only two times on record when Florida’s manatee population exceeded 6,000.
The annual count represents the minimal number of manatees in the state since many marine mammals go undetected.
