Manatee Sightings: August 2018
Photos and video from the 2017 – 2018 season at Blue Spring State Park
Special thanks to Save the Manatee Club staff members Wayne Hartley, Manatee Specialist, and Cora Berchem, Manatee Researcher, for their work to document the manatees this season and provide us with all the wonderful photos, video, and information.
Manatee adoptee Phyllis has given birth to a little calf! Our Blue Spring webcams first recorded the pair on Wednesday May 16, 2018. Then, in early June, Phyllis was spotted with two calves and has been sighted consistently since that time with two calves at the spring. It is thought that Phyllis most likely adopted the second calf, as she has been known to nurse orphaned calves in the past. In 1991, Phyllis gave birth to twins — a rare event for manatees. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
On May 9, 2018, we had a summer visit at Blue Spring State Park from a bunch of manatees, most likely from a dissolving mating herd. Amber, a winter visitor to Blue Spring, was the focal female, and Gator, a Save the Manatee Club adoptee, was one of her male admirers. Other Blue Spring male manatees sighted in the group included Moldy, John, and Lunatic. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
On May 5, 2018, there was a summer sighting of Gator the manatee swimming into the spring run at Blue Spring State Park. This short video was recorded by the Blue Spring webcams. Gator can be recognized by the distinctive scars on the right side of his body. You can adopt Gator and other manatees at savethemanatee.org/adopt. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
A manatee mom and calf float leisurely down the spring run, but watch what happens when a juvenile manatee comes to investigate and bumps into them. Recorded on the Blue Spring webcams on November 29, 2017. See more video at ManaTV.org. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
Take a peek below the research canoe at Blue Spring State Park and see some mother and calf pairs. This video includes manatees Nadia, Carrie, and Molly and their calves. The video was taken during the 2017 – 2018 manatee season using a GoPro camera without getting in the water with the manatees. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
Watch at about :29 in the video as a youngster demonstrates how manatees use their flippers to maneuver in the water. At that point in the video, the manatees ID’d include Checkov (on bottom center with white scars), and Save the Manatee Club adoptee Philip (right over Checkov with cuts in his tail). Manatee Roos gets up and swims over Checkov behind Philip. Watch more manatee video at ManaTV.org. (Video © Save the Manatee Club.)
