Welcome to the Manatee Project


One of our morning duties when we get to the boat is to place all of our belongings in the "dry cooler". It is located toward the stern (back) of the boat and is essential since the water can get pretty rough. More than once, while traveling to and from locations, I have been drenched by waves coming in over the sides. All electronic equipment is also stored in dry coolers and special waterproof boxes.	This is a better look at the transmitter tag that was attached to Rosanna. Rachel said that they get lots of calls on their hotline about tagged manatees. People mistake the tags for something that the manatee may have gotten caught up in such as a crab trap or a fishing line. Community members call up and are very upset that a manatee is hurt. Rachel has to calm them down and explain why the transmitter is there and how it is designed to be safe for the animal. Do you remember what part of its design makes it safe? Why do you think it is designed to float on the water?

Florida doesn't just have Save the Manatee license plates. This plate is for Harbor Sea Turtle Survival. People in the community choose their vanity plates carefully, so that their yearly fee goes toward the endangered animal of their choice.	Here is the Save the Manatee plate that we read about in Manatee Blues. Surprisingly enough, I have not seen very many of them so far.

You are looking at the front of the boat which is called the bow. Anytime we observe a manatee we must yell out its location treating the boat like a clock. The bow in front of you is 12 o'clock, so you call that out if you see a manatee directly in front. If it is to your right exactly 90 degrees you would call that three o'clock. If the manatee is to your left exactly 90 degrees you would call that nine o'clock.	Teresa is recording some data in the daily log in the back of the boat. What would I call out if I saw a manatee directly behind Teresa?