Why herds of manatees are huddling in water near America's power plants

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Manatees have been seen huddling in warm water near power plants in Florida amid a polar vortex that has pounded much of the US with ice and snow. Dozens of the sea cows, which can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh 544 kilograms, have been congregating for the past week near Florida Power & Light Company's Riviera Beach plant, where the company opened the Manatee Lagoon attraction in 2016. open image in gallery Manatees gather near the warm-water outflows of a Florida Power & Light Company power plant “Manatees are such a special species that we have in our waters here in Florida, because they are a sentinel species, which means that they’re an indicator for any water problems that we may have or any environmental issues we may have,” Manatee Lagoon education manager Rachel Shanker said. “The manatees come here to Manatee Lagoon for that warm water, but we don’t have a large population of seagrass right here on our property,” Shanker said. “And so they’ll come here to Manatee Lagoon to get warm, then when they start to get hungry, they will travel out to find those seagrass beds, and they’ll go feed until they get full, and they get cold, and they’ll come back to our warm water to get warm.” According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 565 manatee deaths were recorded in 2024, similar to the 555 deaths recorded a year earlier.