Manatee of the Month: Ginger
A southwest Florida homebody
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Ginger, at right, with one of her calves. She bears a distinctive scar shaped like an exclamation mark, which makes it easy
for researchers to identify her. (Photo courtesy of FWCC)
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Just like humans, some manatees are predisposed to traveling, while others are "homebodies" and like to hang out within a certain geographic area. Ginger falls into the latter category. She is a southwest Florida regular and has been seen there each year since 1994.
From 1997 to 1998, Ginger wore a tracking device, and her movements were studied by researchers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Because she wore a “tag,” we know that Ginger travels in the Caloosahatchee and Orange Rivers, and she has also visited Helen Key and Cape Romano. She has been sighted at the warm water discharge effluent at Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) plant in Tice. And she spends a great deal of time in the Marco Island area and at Lee County Manatee Park, which is also the warm water discharge canal for FPL in Ft. Myers. There, she is an annual favorite with Manatee Park staff and volunteers.
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At left, Ginger is captured for a health assessment.
Ginger's scar pattern sheet (at right) shows her
identifying marks. (Photo courtesy of FWCC)
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Even without a tag, Ginger’s marks are distinctive. She has a big, exclamation point-shaped scar that makes her stand out. This type of scar is called a “skeg” mark and is an injury that is caused by a part of the boat motor that extends below the propeller. When the skeg comes in contact with the manatee, it causes a long, longitudinal cut.
In July 2004, Ginger was seen with a new calf near Marco Island, Florida. This was exciting news and her third known calf since she was first identified in 1994. The duo was spotted again in the fall, and then they moved to spend the winter at the Lee County Manatee Park where they made the staff and visitors very happy by showing up no less than six times in December and again after the new year in February.
In 2005, red tide came and went in southwest Florida, killing more than 50 manatees, but luckily Ginger and her calf escaped the toxic bloom. Predictably, the pair was spotted in September in the Marco Island area and again this winter at Lee County Manatee Park.
We hope this third calf will not be Ginger’s last. The best available science indicates that the southwest Florida manatee subopulation, including the Marco Island area, is in decline. So, successfully reproducing females like Ginger are important keys to the recovery of the species.
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| Live long and reproduce sweet Ginger! (Photo courtesy of FWCC) |
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