Manatees Swim Through Deadly Red Tide in Tampa Bay

A group of manatees, including a calf, appeared in water off St Petersburg, Florida, as a deadly red tide plagued the coastline.

Michael McCarthy, the owner of See Through Canoe, recorded a video on July 12 that shows manatees in waters containing a harmful algal bloom. In a Facebook post McCarthy wrote that manatees were dying because of the red tide.

“The water in the gulf is as bad as I’ve ever seen it in my decades of living in FL, " McCarthy told Storyful.

Up to 477 tons of dead marine life had been collected in St Petersburg, Florida, according to Mayor Rick Kriseman on July 13. Credit: See Through Canoe via Storyful