The animal ‘manatee’ is rebounding its population. Claiming this, the state wildlife commission has voted to take it off the endangered species list of Florida. It has now achieved a new status of a ‘threatened species’ rather than ‘endangered’. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously voted it with the new designation.
Though an annual survey made in February found 3,116 manatees in Florida waters, up from 1,267 in 1991, scientists predicts a contradicting phenomenon, as according to them, the manatee population is expected to drop 50 percent over the next five decades! It is because of habitat loss, boat collisions and red tide algae, the scientists explain.
But, how are the decisions going to affect the species’ protection procedures and degrees? Though the State officials said it would not affect it, will the reclassifications not set in motion a downward spiral of state funding and protections at all?
Via: Live Science
http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_060609_manatee.html