Active Manatee Tracking

A full health assessment was conducted on an eight-foot-long subadult female manatee named Ceelo on August 18, 2026, in Broad Creek, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) and Georgia Aquarium (GAI), with the assistance from many other partners to include Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jacksonville Field Office and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Refuge, SeaWorld Orlando, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, North Carolina State University, Savannah State University, and University of North Carolina Wilmington. Ceelo received an excellent ranking during her health checkup from GAI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag by CMARI to closely monitor her travels as part of our Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study. This was the second time our crew encountered Ceelo. She received her first health assessment when she was with her mother, Larmore, in Cumberland Island, Georgia on May 1, 2025. Ceelo was observed with her mother in the Hilton Head area throughout the summer and fall of 2025. The project will collect crucial habitat use and health data to help manage threats to manatees that migrate northward into coastal Georgia and the Carolinas during the warmer months of the year. Working in cooperation with state and federal agencies, data collected from this project will also be utilized to gain a better understanding of how manatees are adapting their movement and use of habitat after the loss of food sources along the east coast of Florida which was a major contributing factor to the manatee Unusual Mortality Event in recent years.

A nine-and-a-half-foot adult male manatee named Gambino was located and tagged on August 21, 2026 in Baynard Cove Creek, Hilton Head, South Carolina through the partnership between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) and Georgia Aquarium (GAI), with the collaborative assistance from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jacksonville Field Office and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Refuge, SeaWorld Orlando, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, North Carolina State University, Savannah State University, and University of North Carolina Wilmington. Gambino received a full health assessment from Georgia Aquarium veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag by CMARI to closely monitor his travels as part of our Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study. The project will collect crucial habitat use and health data to help manage threats to manatees that migrate northward into coastal Georgia and the Carolinas during the warmer months of the year. Working in cooperation with state and federal agencies, data collected from this project will also be utilized to gain a better understanding of how manatees are adapting their movement and use of habitat after the loss of food sources along the east coast of Florida which was a major contributing factor to the manatee Unusual Mortality Event in recent years.

A nine-and-a-half-foot adult male manatee named Cannonball was located and tagged on May 23, 2019, in Cumberland Sound, Georgia through the partnership between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium and Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He traveled north into the Savannah River where he eventually lost his tag but was later relocated the following winter in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in excellent health. Cannonball was not seen again until August 19, 2026, in Calibogue Sound, Hilton Head, South Carolina. Working with our partner Georgia Aquarium and through the collaborative assistance from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jacksonville Field Office and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Refuge, SeaWorld Orlando, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, North Carolina State University, Savannah State University, and University of North Carolina Wilmington, Cannonball received a full health assessment from Georgia Aquarium veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a new GPS satellite tag by CMARI to closely monitor his travels as part of our Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study. The project will collect crucial habitat use and health data to help manage threats to manatees that migrate northward into coastal Georgia and the Carolinas during the warmer months of the year. Working in cooperation with state and federal agencies, data collected from this project will also be utilized to gain a better understanding of how manatees are adapting their movement and use of habitat after the loss of food sources along the east coast of Florida which was a major contributing factor to the manatee Unusual Mortality Event in recent years.

A full health assessment was conducted on an eight and half foot subadult male manatee named “Chain” on July 13, 2026, in Lake Griffin within the Chain-of-Lakes near Leesburg, Florida by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) through the collaborative effort from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Aquarium (GAI), SeaWorld Orlando (SWO), Walt Disney World – Living Seas and St. Johns Water Management District. “Chain” received a complete health checkup from GAI veterinarian staff and additional blood was provided to University of Florida and USGS for future analysis and comparative studies. He was also outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our Ocklawaha Manatee Movement study. The project will collect crucial habitat use and health data to help manage threats to manatees that migrate into the system during the warmer months of the year from the east coast of Florida and the upper St. Johns River. Working in cooperation with state and federal agencies, data collected from this project will also provide an insightful understanding of how often individual manatees navigate through lock systems and what resources are they seek between large lake systems.

An adult male manatee named “Talbot” was observed in Silver River by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) with monofilament line entanglements on both flippers in August 2026. He was resighted by CMARI and Save the Manatee Club staff during the winter at various natural warm water springs in the St. Johns River but his frequent movement made it impossible for rescue crews to respond. “Talbot” was seen in Silver River by CMARI on July 20, 2026, still with his entanglement. A rescue crew consisting of staff from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), University of Florida (UF), Jacksonville Zoo and CMARI, were able to respond on July 23, 2026, in hopes to help save his flipper(s). The Veterinarian team from UF were able to tediously remove the embedded line from both of his flippers and conduct a full health assessment.