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THIS MONTH IT’S AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE CONSERVATION www.arc-trust.org compared to 637 in 2020. The exact cause of that manatee’s death is unknown, but it is suspected that a lack of seagrass could be the problem, as the prevalence of environmental algal blooms are causing the seagrass to disappear in some areas of Florida, hence the manatees are starving to death. “Manatees are herbivores, so they only eat plants,” said Virginia Edmonds, director of animal care for Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. “They live in freshwater, saltwater, brackish water, so they eat plants in any of those environments and seagrass is one of those plants they do eat.” Boating accidents and colder weather during the winter months are also to blame. The record for manatee deaths in a single year is 830. That was back in 2013.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation champions the conservation of our amphibians and reptiles. We do this by working with the UK government, including the devolved administrations and agencies, to ensure that these animals benefit from biodiversity initiatives.

Collated and written by Paul Irven.