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Dana was born on December 2, 1988, at Blue Spring State Park, while her mother, Donna, was wintering at the park. As a young calf, Dana was a homebody and liked to stay close to her mother. She nursed for two years, which is a little longer than what is observed in some other manatee calves. Once she was weaned, she became very playful and outgoing. She was very fond of the research canoe and liked to hang around as the rangers were gathering manatee data, like counting, identifying manatees, and noting scar patterns. She would push against the canoe, bump it from underneath, and surface to breathe near the rangers so she could exhale right in their faces.

Dana was a mother six times. She introduced her first calf, Dianne, to Blue Spring in November 1993 and the proud mom and her calf stayed the whole season. They made so many appearances that Dana became the attendance champion that year. She must have liked to show off her babies, because when her second calf, Whiskers, was born in 1997, the pair put in an impressive 39 appearances that winter season. Her third calf, Amy, was born in 1999. When they appeared for Amy’s first winter season, it was evident that the calf had already suffered a severe injury from a boat strike. Luckily, Amy’s injuries were healing by the time she and her mother left Blue Spring at winter’s end. Dana’s other three calves are named Brooke, Ditch, and Dropped. She is also a grandmother to six calves and became a great-grandmother in 2009. Her great-grandma status makes her part of the first six-generation matriarchy documented at Blue Spring. The family tree extends back to Dawn, first sighted in 1981, who was Dana’s grandmother.

Unfortunately, we received the sad news that Dana had passed away on July 14, 2012, due to injuries sustained from a boat strike. Dana was a beloved adoptee and is missed by the many SMC supporters that adopted her. Her legacy lives on through our collective efforts to increase public awareness about the importance of protecting Florida’s beautiful waterways and their inhabitants.