Homosassa Adoptees Welcome Visitors Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Adoption Update By Kate Spratt, Park Services Specialist The cool weather of a Florida winter has been upon us for several months and the manatees have been visiting the Homosassa spring frequently. Some daily manatee counts have reached 100 or more animals in our spring and spring run with numerous others in the warm waters just outside the state park. Manatee Watch volunteers have been hard at work keeping an eye on our paddle-tailed visitors, making sure that the manatees are protected and reporting to staff any animals that may need some assistance from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). continued on page 9 Adoptee Ariel swimming at Homosassa Springs. Photo courtesy of Kate Spratt. Adoptees Reunite For Winter At Blue Spring Blue Spring State Park Adoption Update By Wayne Hartley, Manatee Specialist The 2019-2020 manatee season at Blue Spring kicked off on Friday, The Official Newsletter of November 15th. The park count was only 15 manatees, but as it was Save the Manatee® Club done in pouring rain and high winds, the actual number must have 500 N. Maitland Ave., Ste. 210 been much higher! Gator was there—in fact, Gator was in on the 14th Maitland, FL 32751 as well, but that was the day before the season officially started. The weekend was allowed to pass without a 'roll call' as our sources for March, Volume 39 both air and river temperatures let us down, so we have now returned Issue #1 of 2020 to doing our own temperature readings. The weekend did produce a Published four times a year sighting of Lily on the 16th and Phyllis on the 17th. Phyllis was spotted in March, June, September, and November. at the aluminum dock halfway up the run. After some debate back and forth, it was decided Una did indeed have a calf! Unfortunately, she also had a lot of new monofilament on her flippers. Much of that line Artwork by Nancy Blauers Nancy by Artwork and several one-ounce lead weights have been removed by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI). continued on page 3 Lesley Makes Progress, But Still Needs More Care Manatees On The Mend By Cora Berchem, Manatee Research and Multimedia Specialist Lesley, a large female manatee who Meanwhile, Lesley had started to gain frequents Blue Spring, was rescued in March weight, but her internal infection was severe of 2018 when researchers noted that she was and she had to undergo several surgeries. In extremely emaciated. Lesley had a chronic the summer of 2019, SeaWorld and the MRP injury from collision with a watercraft on her consulted with multiple veterinarians and had upper back which had caused a major internal a specialist flown in to try an experimental infection. As part of the Manatee Rescue and surgery on Lesley that had not previously been Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP), which Save done on manatees. The surgery went extremely the Manatee Club is a charter member of, Lesley well, and Lesley’s bloodwork improved. and her dependent calf “Leena” were rescued However, the infection has still not completely by Florida Fish and WIldlife Conservation resolved to this day. SeaWorld, as well as our Commission (FWC) and brought to the manatee staff, is hoping to be able to release Lesley at hospital at SeaWorld Orlando for care. Leena Blue Spring in the near future, as soon as she was released back out into the wild in January is medically cleared. Lesley’s appetite has been of 2019, as she was big enough to start a life increasing and she gained the weight back that on her own. she had lost when she was ill. Stories like Lesley’s illustrate the importance of boating slowly in manatee habitat to avoid collisions and to immediately report sick or injured manatees to FWC so they can be rescued, treated, and hopefully be released back out into the wild. Above: Lesley and her calf Leena on the manatee rescue boat after being captured by FWC and the MRP. Photo by Cora Berchem, Save the Manatee Club. Right: Lesley in a rehabilitation pool at SeaWorld Orlando, recovering from an infection in an open wound caused by a propeller strike. Photo by Cora Berchem, Save the Manatee Club. Have you ever thought about becoming a Club volunteer? Or joining our Manatee Sighting Network? Or contacting decision makers? To find out more about all the ways you can help, go to savethemanatee.org/moreways. Thank you so much! You make a big difference in the lives of manatees! 2 Donate to SMC every time you shop on Amazon. Go to smile.amazon.com, select Save the Manatee Club as your preferred charity, and then log in as you normally would. Amazon will then donate the equivalent of .5% of your eligible purchases to the Club. Blue Spring Update continued from page 1 Watch the Manatee Cam! Our first proper count was on November 18th of the winter. It is very manatv.org when we counted 249 manatees, so the season difficult to capture a was off to a fast start. We saw adoptees Lily, single manatee out of Howie, Phyllis, Phillip, Paddy Doyle, Moo Shoo, and hundreds in the spring, so Aqua. On November 19th, Nick, Margarito, Lenny, we have assisted our partners in trying Floyd, Flash, and Whiskers appeared. On that to tag the manatees of interest so they can be day we also realized Moo Shoo had a calf! Annie captured in the river or easier to locate later. arrived on November 20th. Brutus, Deep Dent, Along with our partners from Blue Spring State and Doc came in on November 21st. Gradually, our Park, SeaWorld Orlando, CMARI, and Florida Fish usual stragglers appeared: Lucille on the 22nd, and Wildlife Conservation Commission, we were Rocket on the 27th, and Merlin on the 29th. By the able to capture a manatee named "Trap" who was end of November, all the adoptees we expected showing signs of severe cold stress. He was taken to see were in! to SeaWorld for rehabilitation but, unfortunately, It has been good to see more of Brutus, Merlin, did not survive due to the severity of his illness. and Flash. However, it appears the reason is not On a much happier note, we were excited a good one. They have been spending most to see adoptee Gator back in the spring run on of their time in springs to our north in recent February 10th after we had not spotted him since years, but manatees in those springs seem to be December 21st. We started to worry, as Gator is experiencing a higher rate of human harassment a very dependable adoptee who doesn’t usually lately—something we are working toward finding seem to venture too far out. He even occasionally a long-term solution to. makes visits to the spring during the summer Sadly, we have additional entanglement months. He looked healthy, so wherever he had problems other than Una’s, and we have been spent the last two months must have been a observing several at-risk manatees over the course suitable habitat. An image captured by SMC's underwater webcam at Blue Spring. Adoptee Doc is visible on the bottom right. Photo by Save the Manatee Club 3 Did you know that you can help fundraise for manatees? SMC has a free tool where you can create your own fundraising webpage to share with your family and friends. Visit bit.ly/SMCHero to see how! To all who selflessly dedicate your birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries to raise funds; or dedicate marathons and cross-country adventures; or have a campaign “just because,” we, and the manatees you help save, are grateful for your support. See Something, Say Something: Reporting Manatee Harassment Can Save Lives By Ally Greco, Communications and Outreach Manager Did you know that manatees are protected by both state and federal law? The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, combined with local boating speed zones, make it illegal to feed, disturb, harass, chase, or otherwise harm manatees. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), anyone convicted of violating the state law faces maximum fines of $500 and/or imprisonment of up to 60 days. These punishments increase for violating federal laws, with fines up to $100,000 and/or one year in prison. That’s right – you could spend a year in prison for harassing manatees! As Save the Manatee Club (SMC) members, you can be a voice for manatees and report harassment. Attracted by the hose left running over the side of the If you see a manatee that is being boat, this manatee comes perilously close to the propeller. harassed, gather as much information Feeding or watering manatees from a boat or dock teaches as you can, take photos and videos, them to approach areas of human activity that could prove and immediately call FWC’s Wildlife to be deadly for the manatees. Alert number at 1-888-404-FWCC Photo credit unknown. (3922). It’s a good idea to store this number in your phone contacts so you always resisting the urge to touch, feed, or give water have it available. You can also email or text to manatees, and steering clear of manatee [email protected], or use VHF Channel 16 on mating herds and mother and calf pairs. For your marine radio. more information on manatee manners, visit As always, remember to set an example savethemanatee.org/tips.