News

By Stephanie Cohen, Public Relations Specialist, & Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate

Mid-November marks the start of manatee season, which means our webcams at Blue Spring State Park, Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, and Silver Springs State Park will livestream manatees in their natural habitat again! These cameras, both above and below the water, are streamed in partnership with Explore.org and Florida State Parks. They provide a perfect opportunity for those who can’t make it to the parks in person to observe these gentle giants up close, while ensuring the manatees have the space they need to rest and keep warm, free from disturbances or harassment. You can watch wild manatees seeking warmth at the protected sanctuaries at Blue Spring and Homosassa Springs, as well as manatees and a multitude of other animals on the Silver Springs cameras throughout the winter by tuning in 24/7 on ManaTV.org. Pre-recorded highlights stream overnight or when the cameras are down for maintenance.

While these webcams are a popular way to learn about and enjoy manatees, they’re also helping us with important research. From the footage, we can extract photos of manatees with distinctive scars, which researchers use for identification. These images are then shared with our partners from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for inclusion in the statewide manatee photo-identification database.

The webcams are also incredibly helpful for monitoring sick or injured manatees. If researchers see something concerning, they can share that information with FWC and other partners who can evaluate the situation and plan a potential rescue if needed. The best part is that the manatees are completely undisturbed while we get to observe their natural behavior without having to get in the water for an up-close evaluation. Over the years, we have been able to monitor manatees that have buoyancy problems, orphaned calves, pregnant manatees, and manatees with signs of cold stress.

Over the summer, our team made several necessary upgrades to the existing cameras, including cleaning the underwater dome housings and installing new cleaner arms to provide the clearest view during the winter months. We are constantly improving our setups, upgrading the cameras to higher resolution, and optimizing our streaming for the public. There actually aren’t a lot of options for permanently installed underwater cameras on the market, so we’ve developed a lot of custom solutions for our manatee cameras.

So, whether you’re near or far, be sure to watch ManaTV.org this winter for some amazing manatee moments.