Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Manatee Die-Off Over, Scientists Say
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As suddenly as it began, an unexplained die-off of manatees in southwest Florida appears to have ended. Scientists from the Florida Marine Research Institute began packing up to leave their makeshift morgue here. They had set up shop at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to better handle the number of carcasses found last week off Charlotte and Lee counties. They worked 12 hours a day performing necropsies. Since March 5, 52 manatees have died, most of respiratory illness, a scientist said. Recent state aerial surveys have counted only 2,600 of the endangered mammals.
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