Manatee Migration Update: February 4, 1998
Manatee Migration Updates Will be Posted on
Today's Report Contains:
An Introduction to Our Manatees & Our Manatee Scientists
Welcome to our second year of tracking the Florida Manatee. We hope you're ready to "dive in"! For the second year in a row, scientists Cathy Beck, Jim Reid and Bob Bonde of the Sirenia Project have agreed to work with Journey North and share their satellite tracking data with you. This year we'll follow the movements of six manatees: Three males ("Dakota", "Brian" and "Bailey") and 3 females ("Hillary", "Xena" and "Knicky"). You may remember "Dakota" as one of the males we tracked last year.
Here's the latest information from the Sirenia Project:
To: Journey North
From: Cathy Beck
Date: January 30, 1998
Thanks for following along with us as we track and study several manatees in different regions of Florida. Right now, we have 10 manatees tagged and still "in the wild", and we will be sharing the tracking data for 6 of these manatees with you . Two of this year's manatees, "Dakota" and "Brian", were previously in captivity, so my colleagues Bob Bonde and Jim Reid will be meeting the Sea World crew to recapture them for medical assessment . We think they are doing fine, and plan to re-release them immediately at the site where they are captured, unless there is some severe problem. Stay tuned for more news on their recapture. " (Click Here to "meet" and learn more about our Manatee Scientists)
We are also lucky to have Range Wayne Hartley on board again this year, to report on the manatees that visit the Blue Spring State Park each Winter, near Orange City, Florida. Each day, Ranger Wayne paddles his canoe into the Blue Spring Run to conduct his "Roll Call", where he identifies each individual manatee, marks its location on the map, and also measures water temperatures in the Blue Spring "Run" and adjacent St. Johns River, and the air temperature too. After you read Ranger Wayne's report (click the button below), see if you can answer Challenge Question #1.
(To respond to this Challenge Question, please follow the instructions at the end of this report.)
Background Information on Manatees
Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are marine mammals, that can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, bays, canals and coastal areas, in both fresh and salt water. They have large, gray seal-like bodies, with two forelimbs or "flippers", a paddle-shaped tail, and a whiskered face and snout that you might see when they swim up to the surface of the water for air.
Manatees are sometimes called "gentle giants", because they are slow
and gentle, and adults average about 10 feet long and weigh between 800 to 1,200
pounds. Manatees are herbivores and they maintain their giant size by feeding primarily
on seagrass. Lots of seagrass! Manatees eat between 10% to 15% of their body weight
each day in plants! How many pounds/kg of food would that be for a 1,000 pound manatee?
How many pounds/kg of food would you have to eat to equal 10% to 15% of your body
(To respond to this Challenge Question, please follow the instructions at the
end of this report.)
Satellite Migration Data for January 1998
Suggestions for Using Satellite Data
Secondly, plan to clip the weather map from your newspaper each day. These daily
How To Respond to Challenge Questions:
Please do not answer more than one question per message!
How to Respond to Journey North Manatee Challenge Question #1
Challenge Question #1
How to Respond to Journey North Manatee Challenge Question #2
Challenge Question #2