The Florida manatee has been moved off the endangered species list. Late last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the status of the Florida manatee will be upgraded from endangered to “threatened”. The Florida population of manatees have rebounded from 5,000 to 6,620 recorded in February of this year.

However, while the population has increased three-years consecutively, some believe the reclassification is premature. This is what Jaclyn Lopez, the Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, had to say about it:

“Manatees are still in danger. With ongoing threats posed by boat strikes and habitat loss, we don’t support reducing protections through down-listing yet.”

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