Manatees in Florida and the Caribbean face multiple welfare threats from boat strikes, habitat loss, cold stress, and algal blooms that have caused catastrophic mortality events in recent years.
Manatee welfare is acutely threatened by boat collisions, which cause lacerations, internal injuries, and fractures, often requiring prolonged rehabilitation. Starvation from seagrass collapse represents mass welfare suffering on a population scale, with thousands of animals in nutritional distress simultaneously. Cold stress syndrome causes hypothermia and immune compromise in animals unable to access warm water refuges. Red tide toxin events cause neurological symptoms including muscle tremors and inability to maintain depth, leading to drowning in severely affected individuals.