Endangered Manatees Getting Some Help From Boston Celtics

I hate to see animals suffering in any way, Berkshire County. The aquatic mammal referred to by some as a "sea cow" has been truly suffering as of late. I'm of course talking about the manatee.

For many years the manatee was struggling and they were classified as "endangered" by wildlife officials. Then, back in 2017, manatees were declared no longer endangered and it appeared things were looking up, at least a little. They were still declared a "threatened" species.

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However, within the last two years, matters have gone downhill fast. Mortality rates for the Florida manatee have been almost record-breaking. Due to several different factors which all basically lead to starvation, over 11 hundred Florida manatees died just last year.

To the rescue comes Boston Celtics co-owner Rob Hale. Hale, along with his wife Karen, oversees the family charity The Fox Rock Foundation. The charity is graciously making a donation to help out the Florida manatees and their habitat.

According to the Associated Press, the announcement was made on Tuesday that the Fox Rock Foundation will donate $1M each to two nonprofits in the Sunshine State. The recipients of the generous donations are the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida and the Save the Manatee Club.

Rob and Karen Hale, who actually have a home in Naples, Florida, have been deeply concerned about the plight of the manatees. And to reiterate, manatees desperately need the help. Wildlife officials have confirmed more than 500 manatee deaths already this year.

For more info, check out the full story at AP's website here.