Active Manatee Tracking

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.