See A Manatee? – Call Promptly

For more information please contact:

Katie Tripp, Ph.D.

Director of Science & Conservation

Phone: (407) 539-0990

E-mail: ktripp@savethemanatee.org

For Immediate Release: October 4, 2011

http://www.savethemanatee.org/news_pr_fall_sightings_10-11.html

The tell-tale nip in the air signals cooler days ahead, alerting manatees who have been away from their Florida home this summer, to start making their way back to important warm-water sites. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico residents and boating communities are asked to report any sightings of the endangered marine mammals to their local Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Stranding network phone numbers are posted at the following link: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/networks.htm.

“If a manatee is spotted, we caution the public to avoid providing food or water,” said Dr. Katie Tripp, Director of Science and Conservation for Save the Manatee Club. “This may encourage the manatee to stay in the area, when they should be moving quickly to warmer waters.”

Manatees are a subtropical species and cannot tolerate prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. “The winter of 2010 saw record-breaking cold-related manatee mortality,” explained Tripp. “2011 has seen 108 cold-related mortalities, the 2nd highest on record. We are certainly hoping for a mild winter in 2012 as the last two years have taken a toll on Florida’s manatee population.”

Manatees are also injured or killed from boat strikes and other human activities that pose a threat to the population. For these reasons, Dr. Tripp reminds boaters that many seasonal manatee zones in Florida come into effect in early November. “Boaters must pay close attention to posted signage indicating slow or idle speeds,” she said. “Additionally, waterway users should keep their distance from migrating manatees or manatees congregated at warm-water sites during the winter, to avoid harassment of this endangered marine mammal.”

Before his most recent appearance in July 2011, Chessie's last confirmed sighting was in August 2001 at the Great Bridge Locks in Virginia. (Photo courtesy U.S. Geological Survey, Sirenia Project)

Save the Manatee Club provides funding for manatee rescue and rehabilitation efforts, including the 1994 rescue and transport of the famous, wandering manatee nicknamed “Chessie,” who has scarcely been seen since, but was sighted again in the Chesapeake Bay this past July, after ten years went by without a sighting.

The Club recently expanded its popular manatee adoption program featuring two new real live manatees, Bama and Zewie. Adoption contributions will be shared with Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Manatee Sighting Network (DISL) in Alabama to provide funding to support their growing manatee tagging and stranding program in Mobile Bay. Sightings of manatees in the bay and surrounding waters have grown significantly over the years. Shoreline property owners throughout coastal areas of Alabama and Mississippi can request free manatee dock signs, and area boaters can get waterproof boat decals by calling DISL toll-free at 1-866-493-5803.

To report an injured, harassed, or dead manatee in Florida, call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922).