News

Alabama/DISL Adoption Update

By Dr. Ruth Carmichael, Director, DISL, & Sophia Corde, PhD Student, Univ. of South Alabama and DISL

Manatee sighting season is in full swing along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast! Many familiar manatees have made their appearances in Alabama waters, including tagged manatees TexasTeeMiguel, Clog, and Sanford! One of our tagged manatees, Clog, has recently graduated from our tracking program after two years with us. Clog’s tracking gear recently fell off, as it is programmed to do after a certain amount of time. We continue to monitor the movements of Sanford, who is currently spending time in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and TexasTeeMiguel, who was last seen with a large group in Dog River on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. We continue to keep a lookout for Save the Manatee Club (SMC) adoptee Bama through publicly reported sightings and while we are out on the water; however, this elusive girl has evaded the camera so far this summer. We rely heavily on publicly reported sightings and photos to help identify our regular visitors and to better understand manatee movements and habitat use in our region.

In addition to our research, DISL/MSN has been busy at local education and outreach events. Raising awareness for manatees in the northern Gulf of Mexico is a large part of our mission, and we regularly attend community events, give presentations, and distribute educational materials, including some provided by SMC! These activities help inform members of the public to keep an eye out for manatees in our region and to report sightings to our network.