Gambino
- Tag Status
- Active
- Last Date Tagged
- August 21 2026
- Gender
- Male
- Tagging Location
- Baynard Cove Creek, Hilton Head, South Carolina
Please note: The presentation of data here does not constitute publication, and the researchers who contributed this data retain all intellectual property rights. Map created by Clearwater Marine Aquarium using Google Maps API. Data & Map © CMA. Use of this map or data without permission is prohibited without the written consent of the researcher. This map is automatically updated with new points each day. The manatee icon location point represents the most recent location received for this manatee. If the most recent point is more than two months old, then the manatee most likely lost their tag ending our ability to track their movement.
Gambino’s Story
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.
All manatee work was conducted under USFWS Research Permit # MA37808A-2.