A polar vortex has dropped temperatures in Florida, wreaking havoc on the local wildlife. While the iguanas are falling from trees, the state’s manatees, yearning for warmer waters, are seeking solace near natural springs and in cozy warm water discharged from power plants.
Before you start imagining irradiated manatees that have deformed into horrific beasts you have to take out with a nuke in Fallout, the water shot out by power plants is totally clean. It’s used to cool the facility before it’s dumped into the ocean where eager manatees hang around to soak in the relaxing warmth during the cooler months. It’s essentially microwaving water but on a bigger, more complicated scale.
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It’s funny that, like many human Floridians, manatees have such a low tolerance for cold that they can’t stand Florida’s comparatively mild winters, but there’s actually a reason for it! Also like many human Floridians, manatees aren’t native to the Sunshine State. They originally hail from the Caribbean, where waters are typically a little warmer than they are in Florida.
Manatees are what is known as a “sentinel species” — an animal that acts as a living indicator of any water or environmental issues that may crop up. They may get run over by boats or get the name of a certain politician etched onto their backs, but the manatee’s primary threat remains cold stress.
Luckily for them, power plants around Florida provide the warmth they need. Drive by any power plant along the East Coast of Florida and you’ll likely find dozens of manatees just lazing around, looking like the chillest animal there ever was.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported 565 manatee deaths in 2024, which is 10 more than the previous year. Those numbers are both way lower than they were back in 2021, though, when there were 1,100 manatee deaths due to a lack of food caused by seagrass destruction from pollution.
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