Senegal: On the trail of a dead manatee Last June an adult female manatee died in a narrow lagoon called Mbodiene. I try to follow up on all of these reports since any information we can gather adds to our sparse knowledge of the species. This manatee was particularly interesting because it had been seen alive with 2-3 others several days before it died, and […]

Building new partnerships This past week I traveled south to Saly and met with Dawda Saine, a manatee researcher from the Gambia who I have been talking to on email for awhile. Dawda is very enthusiastic to get manatee field research started in his country, so we took the opportunity of his attendance at a fisheries workshop here in Senegal to meet and talk about

French Version of the Manatee Necropsy Manual / version française du manuel de nécropsie des lamantins‏ For manatee researchers:We are happy to announce the completion of a French version of the Manatee Necopsy Manual originally written by Bonde, O’Shea, and Beck in 1983. In this French version we updated datasheets to French versions that are currently in use in Francophone Africa, as well as some

Back to Africa! I landed in Dakar, Senegal late Saturday night and am now finalizing my work for this field season, which will be shorter than the past few years (only 2 months!) because I need to be back at the University of Florida to take classes in January. For those of you who may not know, in addition to my job working with West

Gabon: Manatee calf video This wonderful video of the manatee calf in Gabon was made by Aimee Sanders about a week ago. Unfortunately since then the manatee’s wounds have worsened, so I hope the anti-biotics and diligent veterinary care he is receiving will help! He really needs your support if you are able to help! Ouch!!!

Manatee calf in Gabon: surviving but needs your help! It’s wonderful news that the calf (now renamed “Victor”) has survived over 2 weeks! Manatee veterinarians and colleagues from around the world who have experience in caring for orphaned manatee calves in developing countries have provided excellent advice via the internet, and have sent the first feeding supplies to help the staff there keep the animal

Live baby manatee rescued in southern Gabon On Friday afternoon a baby manatee (which is referred to as a calf) washed up on the beach at Mayumba, Gabon. This was a very significant event for two reasons: this is the first record of a manatee in the ocean off Gabon (they have been documented in the sea in countries further north, but never Gabon where

Blobfish? This is quoted from an article in the New York Times published today: Reporting recently in the journal Conservation Biology, Morgan J. Trimble, a research fellow at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and her colleagues examined the scientific literature for roughly 2,000 animal species in southern Africa, and uncovered evidence that scientists, like the rest of us, may be biased toward the

West African Manatee, Species of the Day As part of the Year of Biodiversity, the IUCN Red List has been celebrating by posting a Species of the Day to bring attention to plants and animals around the world. On July 27 it was the West African Manatee’s turn! You can see the pdf by clicking here. To see other species, please scroll down to the