Manatees

A ten-and-a-half-foot adult male manatee named Trucks was located and tagged on April 30, 2024 at Cumberland Island, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAQ), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and other organizations. Trucks received a full health assessment checkup from GAQ and CMARI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee 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 post 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 a ten-foot adult male manatee named Vito on August 19, 2024 north of Savannah, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAI), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and many other partners. Vito received a complete health checkup by CMARI, GAI and University of Florida veterinarian staff. He was also outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee 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 adjusted to the drastic loss of food sources along the east coast of Florida which was the primary contributing factor to the manatee Unusual Mortality Event in recent years.

A ten-foot adult male manatee named Eris was located and tagged on May 1, 2024 at Cumberland Island, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAQ), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and other organizations. Eris received a full health assessment checkup from GAQ and CMARI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study.

An eight-and-a-half-foot small adult male manatee named Shawty was located and tagged on May 2, 2024 at Cumberland Island, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAQ), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and other organizations. Shawty received a full health assessment checkup from GAQ and CMARI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study.

A ten-foot adult male manatee named Yearwood was located and tagged on April 30, 2024 in Beach Creek near Cumberland Island, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAQ), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and other organizations. Yearwood received a full health assessment checkup from GAQ and CMARI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study.

An eight-foot subadult male manatee named LilJon was located and tagged on May 2, 2024 at Cumberland Island, Georgia through the collaborative effort between Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Georgia Aquarium (GAQ), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) and other organizations. LilJon received a full health assessment checkup from GAQ and CMARI veterinarian staff and was outfitted with a GPS satellite tag to closely monitor his travels as part of our manatee Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Movement study.