2/11/08:

The releases went wonderfully and it was a beautiful day!!  There were 38 animals in the spring during the AM and 54 animals during late afternoon.  YEAH!!!   At 5pm, Hurricane was noted following two animals past the swim dock up to the boil.  Annie followed Rocket out of the spring across the river and both were observed to be milling along the spatterdock edge.  In case you were wondering, Dundee was socializing with anything that went past him near the canoe basin.

2/12/08: 

Hurricane traveled north into Lake Woodruff which is about 15 miles away from Blue Spring.  It was assumed he followed one of the females he was noted socializing with the evening before.  Lake Woodruff is a well-known feeding location for manatees and a place where we have seen some of the largest manatees all in one location.  It also has been a well-known feeding location utilized by our rehab animals in the past (Snorty, Scarface, Dundee, Stoneman, Turtle, Gene).   

Week of 2/21/08:

Hurricane was observed with other animals during all of our observations of him for the following two weeks after his release.  On 2/21, eleven animals were observed intensely feeding and throwing their heads out of the water with no vegetation found in the area.  Interestingly, the only item that was retrieved during anchor pulls were masses of snails.  Hurricane was suspected of feeding briefing during this observation but his main behavior observed was pacing.  The water temperature at this time was 19C (66.2F).   

Week of 2/27/08: 

On 2/27, a strong cold front moved the through the area but Hurricane did not show any indication of movement towards a warm water source.  Hurricane was observed alone in Lake Woodruff pacing on 2/28. The water temperature had dropped to 17.5C (62.6F).  Wayne Hartley of Blue Spring State Park had a manatee count of over 50 manatees in the spring that morning.  On 2/29, his count was over 130 and Hurricane still had not moved out of Lake Woodruff.  Thus, the desired course of action was to pull Hurricane from his current location and relocate him to a warm water source as had been done with two previous rehab animals during this same situation.  WT staff notified USFWS and LPZ of the situation.  FWC was also notified of the situation and agreed with the decision to pull Hurricane and relocate him to Blue Spring.  SeaWorld Florida was notified around 9:00 of the need to do a capture. Hurricane was observed on 2/29 again pacing alone with a water temperature of 15C (59F). 

Week of 3/4/08:

The capture crew was to assemble at 10:30am on 3/1 but SeaWorld Florida had vehicle problems and was delayed.  WT staff and volunteer proceeded out to Hurricane's location and confirmed he was again pacing alone.  The capture crew arrived in Lake Woodruff around 1330 and Hurricane was captured during the first net set.  Capture crew personnel were transferred to the two tracking boats to decrease the weight on the capture boat.  Hurricane was noted by JP Peterson of SeaWorld to be in good body condition with a round stomach.  Nodules were located throughout his body and appeared to have been opened during the capture caused by the net friction.  A slight hollow along the rim of his tail was noted and his belt was still tight.  

Hurricane was relocated to Blue Spring State Park and released at the canoe beach at 1615.  He milled up into the spring and was not observed pacing for the next two hours.  There were sixteen manatees in the spring upon release and over thirty animals in the spring by 1800.

Week of 3/11/08:

After Hurricane's relocation back to Blue Spring State Park on 3/1/08, he remained in the spring for three days and then ventured north into Lake Beresford.  He was observed alone on 3/6/08 and exhibited periodic bouts of pacing behavior.  Here is the good news...Hurricane returned to Blue Spring on 3/9 following the onset of the cold front.   He has been primarily resting since his return and no pacing behavior has been observed in the spring run.  He does appear to have more nodules over his body primarily on his face and flippers but he is very responsive to other animals that pass by and happen to be female. 

Week of 4/03/08:

Hurricane has moved way way way up the Wekiva River.  We were not able to obtain a visual of him today but we were able to get a very specific location of his tag signal about 1.5 miles north of SR46.  We also were able to obtain about a dozen different public sightings of him over the past two days.  He was seen near the mouth of the river two days ago by several people and has since been observed traveling alone up the very shallow river.  Most of the area is three feet deep and very narrow and it does have a good amount of boat and canoe/kayak traffic north of the SR46 bridge.  This was our first time attempting to go all the way up the Wekiva River (which we could not do with our boat) and I can say it is definitely not a good situation.  If he decides to stay up the river and the water table drops, I do not think he will be able to make his way back out.  Also if he does need to navigate out of the way of a fast boat, there is nowhere to go depth-wise.  We will be out there tomorrow and potentially Saturday to keep an eye on things.

4/7/08:

Hurricane stayed about a mile north of SR46 milling around by himself all weekend.  According to the locals there was not really any boat traffic other than kayaks and canoes.   Late last night he unfortunately found a way over the shallow grass flats and now is located under SR46 bridge.  He was found today in about five feet of water pacing.  This is supposedly an area where the boat traffic will pick up again.

Week of 4/14/08:

Hurricane was relocated back to Blue Spring today from the Wekiva River just south of SR46.  More details to follow later this week.  Cold stress sores looked much better but stomach a bit on the flat side.  

Hurricane's move up the Wekiva River up to SR46 bridge on 4/03/08 was not considered a good choice but we were willing to hold off on the decision to relocate him with the hope he would travel back out towards the St. Johns River on his own.  We were concerned his location was not a good habitat choice based on the potential entrapment if the water levels of the creek dropped, lack of use by the wild manatee population and the potential of boat strikes in such shallow water.  On 4/10/08, Hurricane was reported in Nova Spring and was receiving human attention which included touching and feeding.  DEP Law Enforcement gave out warnings but the human interactions were reported to continue.  This was very concerning for Hurricane's introduction process since a naive animal needs to learn to obtain its food from the wild environment and not from humans.  On 4/12/08, the decision was made to relocate Hurricane out of the area after he was noted approaching humans for attention and food the day before.  FWC and SWF were notified and arrangements were made to meet with SWF to survey the area the following day to assess the area for capture methods.  The capture was set up for 4/14/08 with DEP Law Enforcement and FWC Wekiva Aquatic Preserve providing additional boats for staff transportation to the capture site.  Hurricane was captured at 1118 just south of the SR46 bridge.  He was transported to Blue Spring State Park and released at the canoe beach at 1310.  Morphometrics and ultrasound were obtained.  His cold stress sores looked much better  but his stomach was a bit on the flat side.  His belt was adjusted to be relocated away from cold stress sores which were healing.  A big thank you to SWF, FWC, DEP Law Enforcement, Blue Spring State Park, FWC Wekiva Aquatic Preserve group, WT volunteers and residents of Wekiva for all their help with Hurricane's situation.  We greatly appreciate your support!  

Week of 4/28/08:

Hurricane moved out of Blue Spring the afternoon of his relocation and was up in Lake Beresford by 1716.  He traveled to Mud Lake two days later and then returned to Blue Spring when the cold front had passed through on 4/17/08.  He socialized with other animals in Blue Spring and was very active.  He was observed pacing at the boil after the wild population had returned to the river but was taking small trips out into the river at night.  Hurricane was observed on 4/22/08 traveling south of Blue Spring, responding to boats by diving down when they came close, but after each boat passed he would change his travel direction.  No relation to the direction the boat was traveling.   Later that afternoon, he was back in Blue Spring and remained near the area for the next couple of days.  Hurricane made a big move over the weekend and as of 4/28/08 he is located SOUTH of Wekiva River...yea he passed it :)  

Date                   Weight            Straight Body Length

01/31/08            1585 lbs                       323 cm             ( FWC )

04/14/08             na                                324 cm    

Girth measurements were as follows:
Date            Peduncle          Anus             Umbilicus

01/31/08              136                  174                  241

04/14/08              132                  156                  228    

Week of 5/21/08: 

We had determined last week Hurricane's tag was functioning properly but was being held underwater by an unknown source which did not inhibit his movement.  Hurricane was relocated on 5/19/08 just northwest of the I-4 bridge in the St. Johns River.  He was in a canal with one other animal and upon our arrival both animals traveled north.  After about a half mile, Hurricane turned south and went back alone into the same canal.  He was easily disturbed by our boat, and after several back and forth bouts in the canal he calmed down at the end of the canal and began to pace.  We were able to get a good position on him and were about to put the swimmer in when he decided to leave the canal again.  The swimmer got in anyway right ahead of him.  He stopped and circled once before continuing down the canal.  This was long enough for a long safety tag to be attached to his old tether.  It was determined he had a large mass trot line with new hooks wrapped up in a ball at the base of the tag along with fishing line, weights, floats and a padded lace lined leopard patterned bra.  Yes, this one is for the books!   After several attempts to cut the debris free, it was determined an impossible job.  We decided the best way to get him back online was to attach a new tether and tag to the old small joiner and cut off the old tether with the entanglement.  But Hurricane had other ideas and decided to travel north at a good clip.  Now with a visible tag on Hurricane we were able to follow his movement with ease but we could not swim that fast, so we called it a day and returned on 5/20/08.  Hurricane was relocated alone in a canal near High Banks around 1000 and began to travel north again just before noon.  By 1400, we were getting excited that he was going to cut us a break and venture into Blue Spring.  Slowing, Hurricane traveled up the spring run around 1440 and we were able to attach the new equipment and remove the entangled tag and tether within minutes.  Gotta love clear water!!  Hurricane slowly traveled up to the boil and then back out.  He rested at the river's edge for a couple of hours, then traveled north and is currently in Lake Beresford.  We got a good look at his body condition and he has a round belly, no new scars and the cold stress sores are almost healed.  Belt is loose and will definitely need to be tightened during the upcoming health assessment.   

Hurricane's entanglement occurred on Saturday 5/10/08 in Lake Monroe east southeast of the I-4 bridge.  We estimate this was the site based on the last GPS transmission that was obtained by the tag before being submerged.  Have to say, this was the most unusual entanglement debris found on a tag and makes you wonder what kinds of friends he is making :)  Guess we will never know.  As a ranger at Blue Spring said...."what happens in Lake Monroe, stays in Lake Monroe".   Just kidding!!!  

6/2/08:

Hurricane was retagged on 6/2/08 in Lake Beresford.  It is only a temporary clip to the belt but it should hold until we can do his health assessment this month.  Hurricane was with three other manatees, one of which we thought was Dundee, but after looking more closely at the scar patterns they are similar but not a perfect match. 

6/21/08:

Hurricane lost another tag sometime between the evening of 6/19/08 and the morning of 6/20/08.  A freeze branded "6" manatee was spotted in Blue Spring on 6/20/08 and it appeared he had something still around his peduncle.  We assumed it must have been Hurricane and he was with two other manatees at the time.  Hurricane's tag was recovered 6/21/08 just north of High Banks.  The tether broke at the weak link as designed.  We were not able to relocate Hurricane today via his belt but will continue our search on Monday.  Hurricane has been moving around a lot lately so it may take a bit to find him.  He has traveled all over to include Lake Beresford, Hontoon Dead River, south to Lake Monroe and even up into Wekiva River in the past three weeks.  We have noted him with three different mother-calf pairs...Ann with a newborn calf, Phyllis/calf and an unknown female/calf.  Hurricane has been observed feeding from time to time but not at a high frequency.  He has seemed more interested in socializing with other manatees which should definitely set him up for finding all the "cool" places.   

7/09/08:

I just wanted to let you know that Hurricane has come offline again as of 10-11 a.m. today, July 9, 2008.  He was seen entering Blue Spring with Phyllis and one or more other animals, still tagged, but the tag was recovered today after 12 p.m. from some floating limbs and vegetation near the mouth of the spring run.  He left the run before a retagging could be attempted, and staff was not available to attempt a retagging from the boat after that.  Efforts to retag Hurricane will resume tomorrow or Friday.

7/17/08:

Hurricane was sighted alone traveling in and out of Blue Spring on 7/17/08.  He traveled up to the overlook portion of the spring run (just west of the swim area) and then turned around.  He stopped briefly to feed on water lettuce before he headed back into the river.  The belt was reported to be in good shape.   

Week of 7/24/08:

Hurricane was resighted in Blue Spring swim area on 7/22/08.  He was with five other manatees; two were confirmed to be Phyllis and her calf.  Unfortunately, all animals left the immediate area by the time someone could get to the area for retagging.

8/04/08:

No new sightings have been reported for Hurricane.

Week of 11/22: 

Hurricane has been offline since 6/08.  He was sighted at Blue Spring 7/22/08 with 5 other animals, including Phyllis and her calf.

A belted manatee was sighted 10/23/08 in the oxbow south of Blue Spring.  Only Hurricane and Stoneman still have belts, and it is unlikely Stoneman still has his belt.

Today, 11/19/08, 118 animals were in the spring run. 

Week of 12/2: 

On 11/26/08, 120 animals were counted in Blue Spring run by Wayne Hartley.  Unfortunately Hurricane has not been seen yet this season. Buddy Powell flew an aerial tracking survey with funding from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Thanksgiving morning (the restricted flight zone on Lake George was open so we were able to survey inside). The survey was flown from Wekiva Spring including Lake Jessup down the St. John’s River to the northern margin of Lake George and back. All of the major spring runs were circled multiple times and no signals were received.  We also took advantage of an aerial survey monitoring boat traffic flown on Saturday the 29^th to Jacksonville. On the return trip they flew a straight line tracking survey of the St. John’s from Palatka to Wekiva Spring.  No signal was heard. 

Week of 1/12: 

Hurricane has still not been located.  Tracking Hurricane’s belt VHF signal by truck has been and continues to be done along the St. Johns River, particularly along the Wekiva River and around Lake Monroe. 

2/23/10-3/04/10:  Hurricane was re-released on Tuesday, 2/23/10, at Silver Glen Spring by SeaWorld of Orlando and Sea to Shore Alliance after recovering from cold stress at SeaWorld.  He immediately began to pace within the boil but within an hour he explored the shoreline and ventured outside of the buoys but returned to bottom rest near the main boil.   Hurricane was observed resting on Saturday 2/27/10 near the main boil and was later in the morning observed pacing in/out of the boil current.  He would stop to note the kayak in the area but then would resume his circling and rolling.  This behavior was observed when he was first released in 2008, when he was relocated twice to Blue Spring and when he was returned to SeaWorld of Florida in 12/2009.  Hurricane was observed pacing within the main spring boil of Silver Glen on Thursday 3/04/10.  He was in good body condition and was very responsive to the kayak with avoidance noted within five feet of him.  He was also observed feeding on naiad located next to the main spring.  

03/06/10:  It is with great sadness to report Hurricane was discovered dead on 3/6/10 at 13:45 by Alley, Silver Glen Spring's manager.  A visitor to the park reported they had been watching Hurricane roll and swim his typical circles in the main spring boil when he all of the sudden stopped.  They watched for a bit and never saw him come back up for a breath.  They reported their worries to Alley who naturally assumed Hurricane had decided to rest but upon further investigation to record intervals between breaths found that Hurricane never took a breath.  Alley reported what had just happened to Sea to Shore Alliance by phone at 1415 and shortly afterwards called FWC.  Hurricane's carcass was pulled from its 10 ft depth and then towed to a rural boat ramp for recovery on 3/7/10 by FWC. 

 

This comes as a very big shock as Hurricane had been observed via tag activity and local visuals to have moved back and forth between the lower and upper portions of the 3/4 mile Silver Glen Spring.  On colder days, he had remained in the main spring area rolling and swimming like he use to do at Blue Spring.  Alley noted Hurricane feeding on vegetation next to the main spring boil on 3/5/10 and again during the morning of 3/6/10.  Gas was also observed this morning.  She said Hurricane's behavior during the AM hours of 3/6/10 appeared normal with his typical routine swimming pattern around the main boil. 

 

It appears at this time that Hurricane's death was quick and without abnormal behavior indicators.  No obvious trauma was noted, equipment was clear of any entanglement and water temperatures at his location had remained 22C with plenty of food available within the spring run.  He also did not appear to have ventured out in the last 24 hours into any colder waters.  It should be noted that Hurricane's tag was under his body when found which is indicative of an animal that just rolled and then immediately stopped having forward momentum.  The FWC Patholab will perform a necropsy sometime Monday 3/08/10 and will send us their findings. We cannot express how much this has affected our team and how sorry we are to bring such news to all those that cared so much for Hurricane.