Sea to Shore Alliance and Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) worked closely with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to cooperatively develop a study plan to address impacts to manatees from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for the NRDA Response Assessment. S2S and DISL took the lead in monitoring impacts to manatees located within Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.  To estimate abundance and distribution of manatees in areas adjacent to and affected by the spill, aerial surveys were conducted weekly with S2S staff as the primary observers. 

Data collect during the aerial surveys also included locations of other marine mammal sightings and locations of any oil in near shore areas. S2S conducted 76 aerial surveys from June 9 to November 17, 2010.  Twenty one manatees were sighted; 19 of those were in Alabama. Manatee sightings were noted from late June through October with the peak number of manatee sightings in July.  Oil was observed during 13 surveys prior to the peak frequency of manatee sightings. No manatees were observed in distress and no animals were observed in actively oiled surface waters. We are currently in the process of compiling data for final reports for submission next month.

The Status of Belize Manatees - Jamal Galves, S2S Manatee Associate

Jessica Koelsch in the final stretch

Last year, Sea to Shore Alliance's Conservation Biologist, Jessica

Koelsch, had the privilege of competing inthe Half Ironman 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Clearwater, Florida, with the goals of finishing the race in under 5 hours, and raising funds for S2S. In 2010, Jessica raised the bar after qualifying for the original Ironman Hawaii World Championships in Kona. On October 9, she swam 2.4 miles in the Pacific Ocean, biked 112 miles through lava fields on the big island of Hawaii, then ran a marathon (26.2 miles) in 11 hours and 42 minutes. In the process, through donations, she raised $2,475 for Sea
to Shore programs.

It's not too late to participate in the Sponsor Challenge. Visit http://public.sea2shore.org/challenge to donate.

To watch a video slide show of the event, please visit:

News from the Belize Manatee Rehabilitation Center

photo by Annelise Hagan, Southern Environmental Association

Rescued as an emaciated orphan in late June 2009, and weighing in at only 56 pounds, Twiggy was named after the famous and very slender UK model: she was thin and showed every sign of remaining that way! A fussy feeder from the beginning, Twiggy's weight gain was slow for her first few months in rehabilitation. Looking at Twiggy now though, it's hard to remember what she was like only a year ago, now weighing over 220 pounds and putting on over a pound a day, she is now a very respectable looking manatee - and no longer resembles her namesake!

Twiggy is still drinking 2 liters of milk a day, but is also eating large volumes of seagrass. While 12 months ago it might take an hour to persuade her to drink 250 ml of milk, her record for drinking the same amount now is a mere 45 seconds. As the first preparatory steps are being taken towards her release in late 2011, Twiggy is taken out loose in the Lagoon each day - spending an hour and a half in the morning, and again in the afternoon, peacefully grazing on seagrass. With a volunteer in attendance a short distance away, these feeding forays are a critical learning process for Twiggy - a perfect introduction for the life she'll have when she rejoins Belize's wild manatee population.

Wildtracks, home to the Belize Manatee Rehabilitation Center, thanks Sea to Shore Alliance for its timely assistance with emergency funding for Twiggy's milk earlier this summer: with her now drinking more than $12 of milk a day, the support was greatly appreciated! Thankfully, the Center's location on the edge of Shipstern Lagoon in north-eastern Belize means that seagrass is readily available, thereby reducing the need to provide costly alternatives - as well as helping prepare Twiggy for her adult diet in the wild.

Sadly, not all manatee rescues go so well. Twiggy was joined by another, larger manatee calf on March 21 - injured in a boat collision, and close to death when found. Against all odds, "Josie" battled through severe gastro-intestinal problems and severe weight loss to rebound to health after several weeks of intensive care. Twiggy and Josie bonded well, rarely swimming more than a few feet away from each other. While we fully anticipated being able to release both manatees together in 2011, we lost Josie in August when she died suddenly as the result of a twisted gut. Twiggy was bereft for several weeks, and like a human infant regressed in her behavior for some time. Thankfully time and temporarily increased human company have helped, and Twiggy is now thriving once more and moving forward toward her eventual release.

As the number of manatees entering the Rehabilitation Center increases, so does the need to expand the facility. The initial inflatable paddling pools were gradually replaced by two concrete pools and the spacious lagoon enclosure, and now a third and much larger concrete pool is rapidly nearing completion. At 30 feet long by 15 feet wide and more than 5 feet deep, this new pool will allow two or more manatee calves to be housed together during the times when the water in the lagoon enclosure is either too choppy or too chilly for them. The construction has been a major undertaking, with the final stage of building a large embankment of soil around it now almost complete. During the construction phase, there have been no fewer than three manatees that needed rehabilitation, but sadly could not be captured. There is no doubt that as national collaborative efforts toward enhanced rescues are strengthened, more and more manatees will need the care of the Center - and hopefully will be able to rejoin the wild population once healed.