Paprika
- Tag Status
- Removed on April 25, 2023.
- Last Date Tagged
- February 4, 2023
- Gender
- Female
- Tagging Location
- Orange City, Florida
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.
Paprika’s Story
A ten-foot adult female manatee named Paprika was rescued by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with the assistance from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), Volusia County Environmental Management and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on March 16, 2022, from Welaka, Putnam County, Florida. She was rescued because of her inability to swim level in the water due to a pneumothorax injury from a boat strike. She was also assessed to be very far along in a pregnancy at rescue. Paprika received two months of critical care at SeaWorld Orlando’s manatee rehabilitation center and weighed 1395 pounds upon her release on May 10, 2022, in Orange City, Volusia County, Florida. CMARI tagged and outfitted Paprika with a GPS satellite tag and will be monitoring her movements as part of their manatee Northern Atlantic Coast study and as part of a cooperative study with state and federal agencies to assess manatee movement and habitat use as a result of the manatee Unusual Mortality Event (UME).
Manatee Monitoring Updates:
- 7.7.22
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CMARI researchers have confirmed that the baby manatee seen swimming with Paprika is her calf based on further observations and mom-calf behavior!
- 6.29.22
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Paprika was recently sighted with what could be her calf!
Paprika’s tag was recently malfunctioning, so the CMARI team was deployed to do an assessment. When the team found her, she was observed with what appeared to be a two-week-old manatee calf. The team will visit Paprika again soon to officially confirm that it is her calf, so stay tuned for updates!
All manatee work was conducted under USFWS Research Permit # MA37808A-2.