Manatee feeding program ready as winter tests survival

BY CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — As winter approaches Florida, state wildlife officials say a test feeding plan will save many threatened manatees from starvation. But they say the manatees will still face the threat of manmade water pollution stifling their food supply. The state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was told at a hearing Wednesday that manatees will congregate at warm-water sites such as power plants as the ocean temperatures cool, and there may not be enough seagrass to sustain them. The controlled feeding program at a Florida Power and Light plant on the East Coast is unique. Officials say people should not randomly feed them, which is illegal and leads to an unhealthy association between the animals and food.