A Miami woman caught video of a manatee swimming in a gasoline spill in Miami’s Little River, which empties into Biscayne Bay.
A clip recorded by Yanina Barrington, and shared on social networks, has caused concern among Floridian wildlife protectors about the fuel dump in a popular waterway that is affecting manatees, an endangered species.
As reported in a note from NBC Miamithe woman, who lives by the river, recorded the video from the patio of her house.
He said the fuel spills have been ongoing for two years, but the source is unknown.
“We have oil spills every two months or every month, they are very short, usually two, three hours,” Barrington said.
“The oil is not much, so it dissipates as soon as it happens, you know, in two or three hours. By the time you send a report and the coast guard shows up, it’s very difficult for them to locate the source,” he said.
Manatees are considered a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.
In Florida there are between 7,000 and 8,000 of these animalsaccording to state estimates, but in recent years several factors have threatened its existence.
According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in 2019 more than 130 lost their lives due to boat strikes in the state’s waterways.
In 2021, another FWC report pointed out the lack of seagrass as the main cause of manatee death, and to this is added another no less deadly: the contamination of marine waters.
The coasts of South Florida have witnessed these mammals that they have surprised the bathers on more than one occasion.
