I Heart ♥ Manatees

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Manatees are undoubtedly charismatic creatures! People love manatees, or expressed in more modern jargon: we “heart ♥” manatees. Did you know there are researchers who literally “heart” manatees?

On-Site Field Electrocardiography Of A Manatee’s HeartManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. January 24, 2012 pm. Researchers from several federal and state agencies and other partners work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. Electrocardiography is preformed and recorded using a plastic container to shade the live imaging of the manatee's heart. The animal is only out of the water for a pre-determined safe period of time. (Carol Grant)

 Electrocardiography Performed On The Manatee Health Assessment BeachManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. December 7, 2011 am. Researchers from several federal and state agencies and other partners work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. Electrocardiography is preformed and recorded using a plastic container to shade the live imaging of the manatee's heart. The animal is only out of the water for a pre-determined safe period of time. (Carol Grant)

Since 2006, Manatee Health Assessments have been conducted at Crystal River, Florida. Dr. Bob Bonde from United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Sirenia Project organizes a top-flight group of manatee researchers to study the Florida manatee. Manatees are netted, hauled up on the beach and given a battery of tests, microchipped, cataloged and even the live imaging of a manatee’s heart is recorded on site.

Link to PDF of detailed analysis of the assessment process: Manatee Capture and Health Assessment Report 2006-2012

Dr. Bob Bonde And Team With A Captured ManateeManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. November 29, 2012 pm. Researchers from several federal and state agencies work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. Project Leader Dr. Robert K. Bonde preparing for a procedure on a manatee. The animal is only kept out of the water for a safe, pre-determined timespan. (Carol Grant)

Manatee Netted — Being Hauled Up On The BeachManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. November 29, 2012 am. Researchers from several federal and state agencies work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. A netted manatee arches as it is pulled on shore as it splashes after being netted for data and sample acquisition. The assigned handlers are familiar with safety procedures for both the manatee and handlers. The animal is only kept out of the water for a safe, pre-determined timespan. (Carol Grant)

Manatees are located by spotters on boats and a nearby bridge. Single manatees are preferred but sometimes two are encircled with the net. Young manatee calves are always netted along with their mothers so the two are never separated. Here is a mother and calf pair just netted, notice the care taken to pull the netting away from the manatee’s nostrils:

A Manatee Mother And Calf Are Netted TogetherManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. November 28, 2012 10:56am. Researchers from several federal and state agencies work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. A mother manatee is netted along with her calf. They will be kept and released together after the data and sample acquisition process. The manatees will only be kept out of the water for a safe, pre-determined timespan. (Carol Grant)

This pair was assigned the field ID numbers 19 & 20, marked with temporary grease pencil. Since I am familiar with the patterns of manatee movements around the springs, I made an educated guess this pair would swim up a spring run later in the day. Low and behold, five minutes after I entered the water along came #19 & 20, the very same manatees netted exactly four hours before!  What a busy day these two had! Also what a contribution this pair made to our understanding of manatees!

Mom And Calf #19 & 20 Together 4 Hrs. Later — Swimming Up To The SpringsManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. November 28, 2012, 3:08 pm. Researchers from several federal and state agencies work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. A mother manatee and her calf swim into Three Sisters Springs after being sampled for the manatee assessments four hours earlier. They are assigned grease pencil marks 19 and 20 along with their sex. This mother and calf was photographed in the net four hours earlier and were kept together and released together. (Carol Grant)

The Manatee Health Assessments gather information that is an invaluable collection and repository of data. This program, headed up by the USGS Sirenia Project is important and it would be a shame to see this key research discontinued because of government cutbacks, especially in a year when a new record of 769+ manatees have already died. I think you will agree with me this research is vital to our understanding of the Florida manatee. Let’s support it and all say “We ♥ manatees!”

Manatee Health Assessments In Progress — For more on the process my Manatee Health Assessment PhotographsManatee Health Assessments, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida USA. November 10, 2011 am. Researchers from several federal and state agencies and other partners work together to gather data during the manatee capture and health assessments. A Manatee Rescue boat is used as a platform to gather data sampling from a manatee. Project Leader, Dr. Robert K. Bonde, checks on the progress of several aspects of data acquisition going on at once. In the background is a weighing arch and other data collection and processing areas. The manatee is only out of the water for a pre-determined safe period of time. Scars on the manatee are documented. (Carol Grant)

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2 thoughts on “I Heart ♥ Manatees”

  1. Love your work to educate people thru your exquisite photos of the “gentle giants”. Especially the Mom calf pair shown after a quick health assessment back in the wild is loving life!

    • Yes, capturing the photo of the mom/calf netted then guessing where they would go & being in the water 5 minutes before they swam by — I guess they call that serendipitous!
      Thanks Stacy!
      Best, Carol

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