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Manatee Sightings Update: April 2026

April 3, 2026 | ,
Gator was in the midst of a large aggregation on one of the coldest winter days on February 4.
Gator was in the midst of a large aggregation on one of the coldest winter days on February 4.

By Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate

Manatee Season at Blue Spring State Park officially ended on March 27. We had a severe, prolonged cold front in early February with overnight lows of 23 °F that brought in a record count of 859 manatees in a single day and lots of adoptees. February remained cool before it started warming up in March and most manatees dispersed.

Blue Spring State Park Sightings

Lily was still around in late February. Here she is on February 24.
Brutus was in the same day, resting in clear water.
Doc didn’t seem to want his photo taken on February 26.
However, Doc did “pose” for a picture on February 27.
We got some nice photos of Nick, who usually hides in the murky water, on February 11.
Our research team also got some nice photos of Howie—another adoptee who usually prefers the murkier water, so this was a nice surprise.
Merlin made a surprise visit as the last adoptee seen for the 2025-26 winter season on March 21. Here is a nice picture of him taken earlier in the season on February 9.
Margarito is always a bit hard to photograph as he is usually in murky water and surrounded by lots of manatees, but here he is quickly swimming by the research canoe.
Phyllis was seen resting next to (an unrelated) calf on February 16.
Moo Shoo didn’t make a lot of appearances this winter, but here she is on February 17.
Gator was in the midst of a large aggregation on one of the coldest winter days on February 4.

Coastal Sightings

Millie, our traveling manatee surprised us all again! She was seen at Blue Spring in November 2025, then at Port Everglades by our partners from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on January 28 and spotted back in the Silver River by our partners from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute in mid-March! 

Here she is at Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale:

We got a couple of nice sighting reports of adoptee Zelda near Key West in November and January! 

A big surprise was a citizens sighting of adoptee Flicker in Coffeepot Bayou in St. Peterburg in early March!

Blue Spring Releases

Winter was also a busy time again for manatee releases. Our team assisted with the releases of Lilypad, Clawford, Vora, Mandalore, and Carditee at Blue Spring in mid-February. All manatees were outfitted with satellite tracking devices so the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute can monitor their progress for the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership. These efforts take a village and about a dozen partners came together to make this happen! You can read more about the releases in the March edition of The Manatee Zone.

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