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We attempted to capture Mo on 1/18/06 without success. The plan was to be on the water to try and capture Mo out in Kings Bay before he moved into the sanctuaries around his routine scheduled time of 830am. At 750am Mo was located traveling quickly through Kings Bay and unfortunately arrived into the Magnolia Spring sanctuary at 814am. Due to the extremely high water, the capture boat could not proceed under the bridge, so the capture was called off at this time.

All proceeded to the boat ramp, except Bob Bonde who continued to Three Sisters to do some photoID. Upon arriving at the spring, Bob noticed Mo traveling up the run and notified Nicole Adimey which called the troops to let us know Mo’s new location. Permission to use the private land adjacent to Three Sisters had previously been established, so all resources were switched for a land set. There were over two dozen manatees resting in the large spring along with Mo. A plan was formulated to swim a small net around Mo while encouraging other manatees to move out of the circumference of the net. Unfortunately, Mo moved out into the middle of the spring and was encouraged to go into the inner parameter of the net. He very quickly went out of the net near the opening and could not be herding back to the capture site.

We were able to obtain an excellent look at his body condition and Mo has increased in abdominal depth since observed on 12/30/05 . Bonde and Ryan Berger also confirmed that Mo had a much better body condition than what was observed during their observations of him in December. Currently, Mo has a convex shape to his lower abdomen and no concavity was apparent. Based on the difficulty to catch Mo and observed improvement in condition, the capture was called off. Another health assessment will be scheduled if or when Mo changes his movement patterns to allow us a chance to capture him in Kings Bay . We will continue to monitor Mo for any decline in body condition or behavior shut-down signs. If critical health concerns arise, we will attempt to capture Mo immediately.

Also, we will continue to try and get good body condition photographs for the group. Water clarity has not been at its best when Mo has been in accessible swimmer areas.

Thanks again to everyone over the past month for being on continuous standby and having the ability to help with minimal notice. A special thanks to this capture crew that had to get up soooooooo early to be ready to leave the refuge right after sunrise.

Bo was captured on 11/16/05 for his second health assessment, eight months after his release. He was first observed when Douglas traveled up to the flood structure at Blackpoint. Both animals remained together while the tracking boat encouraged them to move out to a more open area where the capture boat made their first attempt. Unfortunately, Douglas showed Bo how to get out of the net with him via lead lines. For the next hour Douglas and Bo traveled back and forth under the boat slips of the marina but Bo was eventually captured at 1200….Douglas was able to get out under the lead lines again.

Blood, morphometrics, ultrasound, weight, fecal and skin were obtained. Dr. Mike Renner from Miami Seaquarium gave Bo an overall condition of good, with a body score of 3. He gained 30 lbs since his last health assessment on 6/30/05 . Fecal sample consistence appeared normal and he had a round belly. Blood values looked good.

Ultrasound readings showed decreases across the board. Umbilicus reading was normal, anus reading fell just below normal and peduncle reading was below normal. All girth measurements are still below normal but it should be noted that the umbilicus reading did increase since last capture. Note his captive readings in January were below normal for the peduncle and umbilicus girths.

Bo received a new belt because the belt had received damage from a prop cut. Shortly after Bo’s release into the sanctuary at Blackpoint, he traveled back to the flood structure and began to bottom rest.

Visually, Bo appears to similar body mass compared to other animals of his size in the area. Monthly underwater visual observations will be attempted to monitor his body condition going into the winter season. Bo has been traveling over the past month between Blackpoint and Deering Estate. He has even been observed with one of our old friends, Brooks at Deering Estate.

Douglas

Douglas was first observed going by the boat ramp at Blackpoint Marina while the capture team prepared for departure. Douglas slowly traveled into the sanctuary and then up to the flood structure where he met up with Bo. Both animals remained together while the tracking boat encouraged them to move out to a more open area where the capture boat made their first attempt. Unfortunately, Douglas showed Bo how to get out of the net with him via lead lines. For the next hour Douglas and Bo traveled back and forth under the boat slips of the marina but Bo was eventually captured at 1200….Douglas was able to get out of the net again under the lead lines. After Bo’s health assessment was completed, our focus shifted back to Douglas . Two more capture attempts were conducted while Douglas proceeded to evade the capture by going under the lead lines. Additional capture attempts were called off due to poor capture location in Goulds Canal and due to an annoying engine alarm horn. Formulation of a new capture attempt date is underway.

Douglas has been observed traveling back and forth between Blackpoint and Deering Estate over the last month. We have been able to get great underwater observations of his body condition. He appears to have more body mass compared to other animals of his size in the area and has a very round belly. Douglas has been very active. He is usually seen with other animals while at Blackpoint or Deering but usually travels alone alone.

Mo has remained in Kings Bay since his health assessment on 11/1/05 . He has made a few quick trips down Crystal River but not out of the river. Mo has been associated with a mother calf pair during several observations and shows excellent boat avoidance, to the extent that his natural behavior was being altered. During one weekend observation, 5 tour boats and two recreational boats approached Mo within 30 minutes. Mo was observed to move away from the boats when they got within 20 feet of him. He eventually moved out of the area to a new location which had less boat traffic. Local dive/tour shops were contacted and requested to not use Mo for “swim encounters” and to keep boats at least 30 ft from him to help allow him to conduct his natural behavior like feeding or resting (conserving energy). The day before the sanctuaries were enacted in Kings Bay , Mo was observed continuously on the move for four hours. He was observed traveling to Magnolia, Gator hole and 3 Sisters springs but left each area after being approached by tour or recreational boats. Once he was out of that area, he was observed traveling along the shoreline northward into and out of the waters north of Pete’s Pier. He was briefly observed socializing with one other animal and then continued to travel back into the Magnolia Springs area.

Bobber

Bobber, Bobber, Bobber! Bobber was heard by FWC staff at Titusville Municipal Marina on 11/10 but left the area once WT got to the site to attempt retagging efforts. Bobber was again heard by FWC staff at Titusville Municipal Marina on 11/18. She remained in the southwest corner of the marina while attempts were made to locate her but due to water clarity, lack of sun and 20+ other animals in the corner, Bobber was not seen just heard by sonic. The good news is that she did not leave the area with a swimmer in the water, she would just reposition herself away from the swimmer…or she was right there and swimmer couldn’t see her. We may not have gotten her retagged but we had a great attempt.

Snorty

Snorty has not been located in the past month but an aerial survey has been scheduled for 11/22/05 to help relocate him.

Douglas was retagged at Blackpoint...go Joaquin. And...........Bo's tag was heard today too just north of Blackpoint. The capture is still a go for tomorrow and again I say..."may the tracking gods be with us" (or should that now be the capture gods??)

Mo was captured on 11/1/05 for his first health assessment, three months after his release. He was milling around and feeding with 3 other animals in Kings Bay , West of Hunters Spring. Mo was captured on the first net set. One other manatee (male) was pulled up on the boat with Mo but was immediately released. No obvious scars or other identification.

Blood, morphometrics, ultrasound and weight were obtained. No fecal samples were available. Dr. David Murphy Lowry Park Zoo gave Mo an overall condition of good, with a body score of 3. He lost 170lbs (16%) since his release on 8/09/05 . His belly was flat with loose skin but no longitudinal skin folds were apparent. Blood values are currently pending.

Ultrasound readings showed decreases across the board. Umbilicus and anus readings were considered normal and the peduncle reading fell below normal. Peduncle and anus girth measurements were considered normal and the umbilicus girth was slightly below normal.

Mo’s belt was tightened to help reduce further irritation to a new rub spot received from this year’s belt. Rub spots are not common but for some reason Mo is prone to these. The GPS tag was exchanged so he now has a red tag with a yellow/red antenna. After Mo’s release, he traveled around the canals of Hunters Spring.

Mo had been observed feeding on numerous occasions. Thus, we were amazed at the amount of weight and fat he had lost since his release. He is almost always with other animals and is active and responsive, equivalent to other manatees in the area. Monthly underwater visual observations will be obtained to watch for any appearance of a concave belly during this upcoming winter season.

Bo was captured on 6/30/05 for his first health assessment, three months after his release. He was bottom resting with one other animal under a dock in Blackpoint Marina. It took about 10 minutes before Bo and the other animal moved completely out from under the boats and docks. They were both caught on the first net set and the other animal appeared to get out of the net when Bo hit the net, spun and raised up the lead line.

Blood, morphometrics, ultrasound, weight, fecal and skin were obtained. Dr. Maya from Miami Seaquarium gave Bo an overall condition of good, with a body score of 3. He lost 115 lbs since his release on 3/29/05 . Fecal sample consistency appeared normal and he had a round belly. Blood values are pending.

Ultrasound readings showed decreases across the board. Umbilicus and anus readings are still above normal and the peduncle reading fell just below normal. All girth measurements decreased below normal but it should be noted that this is a small animal. His captive readings in January were below normal for the peduncle and umbilicus girths.

Bo received a new belt and GPS tag. About two hours after his release, Bo was observed with two other animals socializing in Blackpoint Marina. Later that afternoon he moved to Gould’s canal and began to bottom rest (in Brooks’ old spot).

Visually, Bo still appears to have more mass to his body compared to other animals of his size in the area. Monthly underwater visual observations will be obtained to watch for any appearance of a concave belly. Bo has been traveling daily in the Biscayne Bay area for the past few weeks ranging from Blackpoint to Old Rhodes Key. The loss in weight, girth and backfat may be the results of his extensive swimming bouts.

Thank you to the capture crew consisting of SeaWorld of Florida, Miami Seaquarium, Walt Disney World/EPCOT’s Living Seas and Wildlife Trust.

Snorty utilized the areas between Lake Woodruff northward to Palatka’s Warner Cove and then south to Crescent Lake during the last part of May and into June 2005. He was observed with several other animals in Lake Woodruff during the last week of May. On 6/3, Snorty was observed traveling out of Lake Dexter heading north in the St. Johns River. He was located by ARGOS in Lake George the following day and then in Little Lake George on 6/6. Snorty was observed on 6/7 with several other animals still traveling northward along the St. Johns River north of Trout Creek (south of Palatka). Two days later, he was observed alone near Warner Point just north of Palatka. Snorty began to travel south the following day and made his way into Crescent Lake on 6/12. Unfortunately, Snorty lost his tag on 6/14 due to a gator bite to the tag (gator bite very apparent on the tag). Snorty was still in the area when the tag was recovered on 6/15 but a retagging attempt was not conducted due to high presences of large gators. If he moves out of the area to a safer location, we will attempt a retagging and if not successful or if he does not move out of the area soon, recapture options will be discussed to attach another tracking device.

Scarf utilized the areas between Lake Woodruff northward along the St. Johns River to New Switzerland Point during the last part of May and into June 2005. She was observed feeding along the northeast shore of Lake Dexter during the last week of May. Scarf began to travel northward in the St. Johns River on 6/1. She was observed with five other manatees on 6/3 in Muddy Cove just north of Lake George and was still with other animals on 6/7 just south of Trout Creek (south of Palatka). Two days later, she was observed with one other animal near Rice Creek, north of Palatka. Scarf continued her northward track and was at New Switzerland Point on 6/11. The following day, she began to slowly travel south and was in Palmo Cove on 6/16.

Bo utilized the areas between Blackpoint and Military canal during the last part of May and into June 2005. Bo was observed alone on 6/1 traveling out of Blackpoint toward Princeton canal. He was observed socializing and bottom resting with four animals the following day in Blackpoint. Over the next week, Bo made nightly trips out of Blackpoint to the mouth of Princeton canal and then he would be back in Blackpoint the following early afternoon. He was observed milling around the dock slips of Blackpoint with one other animal on 6/12. Unfortunately, sometime during the evening of 6/12, Bo lost his tag. The tag was recovered on 6/13 completely submerged under a boat. We were lucky that the area had received an extensive amount of rainfall and the flood structures had been open allowing the saltwater basin to become freshwater. Thus, we were able to hear the tag’s VHF signal (which doesn't transmit well in saltwater) even though the tag was submerged. We searched for Bo and were not able to locate him on 6/13 but were lucky to relocate him the following day when he joined up with the recently released manatee, Douglas. After several hours of attempts to sneak up on Bo (which was not being allowed by Douglas), the two animals finally allowed us to get close enough to clip a new tether and tag onto Bo’s belt. Bo was observed on 6/16 with Douglas and several other animals inside Blackpoint's manatee sanctuary.

Daisy has not been sighted since her tag stopped working on 4/24/05. We will continue our search for Daisy by monitoring the high use manatee areas and will conduct another aerial survey of the area hopefully in the next week.

Bobber has continued to be on the move during the last part of May and into June 2005. Visual observations have been extremely difficult due to NASA restricted access to the area she has been inhabiting. Bobber moved out of Banana River and into Sykes Creek on 5/26. She moved into the Indian River and traveled north to an area near SR402 on 5/29. Bobber stayed in the Indian River throughout the month of June ranging between the town of Delespine and SR402 along the Indian River.

Snorty utilized the area between Lake Woodruff to Lake Dexter during the months of April and May. He was observed with several other animals in Harry’s Creek off of Lake Woodruff during the first week of April. On 4/11/05 , Snorty was observed feeding with three other manatees along the shoreline of Tick Island Creek. It was very difficult to tell what he was feeding on because there were eleven different types of vegetation located where the animals had been grazing. Snorty moved back into Lake Woodruff two days later and into Spring Garden Creek. He remained in the Lake Woodruff area until the middle of May and was found almost on all occasions with other manatees feeding and/or cavorting.

Snorty was captured for his first health assessment on 5/12/05 . He was cavorting and socializing with three other manatees along the north shore of Lake Woodruff until the capture boat approached. He and the other manatees exhibited excellent boat avoidance tactics. Snorty was captured on the second attempt and was given an overall body condition of excellent and had even gained 20 pounds since his release. The following day, Snorty moved to the far west end of Lake Dexter . He was observed socializing with Scarf on 5/16 along with seven other manatees. Two days later, Snorty was with one other animal feeding in Tick Island Creek. He was alone on 5/23 in Tick Island Creek and even investigated the tracking boat until another manatee went by.

Scarf utilized Lake Dexter during April and began to use Tick Island Creek during the month of May. She was very difficult to approach during the first week of April along the north end of Lake Dexter . On 4/11/05 , Scarf was observed feeding alone on three types of vegetation on the east side of Lake Dexter . We were able to get a good view of her body during the observation and she appeared to be in good condition. She continued to use the east and northeast side of Lake Dexter through the month of April and into the beginning of May and was usually observed alone and feeding.

Scarf began to use Tick Island Creek on 5/10/05 . She was captured for her first health assessment along the northwest side of the Creek on 5/12/05 . Scarf was with one other animal at the time of capture. This animal was also caught in the net but released without being pulled up onto the boat. Unfortunately, Scarf was able to get out of the net during the first capture attempt but was successfully captured during the second set. She was given an overall body condition of excellent and had even gained 20 pounds since her release. The following day, Scarf moved back into Lake Dexter and into Eph Creek. She was observed socializing with Snorty on 5/16 along with seven other animals. Two days later, Scarf was alone bottom resting along the north end of Lake Dexter . On 5/23, she was in the northeast portion of Lake Dexter traveling and milling through the vegetation. She was spooked out the area due to our approaching boat but once the boat was anchored and steady, she moved back into the area.

Bo stayed in the Blackpoint area for almost the entire month of April and then began moving between Blackpoint to Mowry Canal in May. Bo was observed resting with four other animals in Blackpoint’s Manatee Sanctuary on 4/5/05 . He was observed with three animals (one was Daisy) feeding on algae and mangroves under a bridge on 4/12/05 . Bo was observed resting or socializing with other manatees in Blackpoint during the third week of April and observed alone in the same area during the forth week. Finally on 4/30/05 , Bo moved out of Blackpoint and was observed socializing at the mouth of Princeton Canal with two other animals. He was observed traveling with a distinct known female manatee (with calf) on 5/6/05 just north of Blackpoint canal. They traveled right into Blackpoint and went to the flood structure and began to drink from the gate leaks. Since that date, Bo has remained with this mother/calf pair. They have been observed with one other manatee but the additional animal has not been the same one twice. Bo has been moving back and forth between Blackpoint and Mowry Canal and has been documented going to Mowry Canal around in the beginning of the afternoon to drink freshwater from the structure. He has been observed feeding on seagrass on many occasions and has displayed boat avoidance behavior. Bo was actively participating in socialization behavior on 5/23/05 when a male joined up with him and the mother/calf pair.

Daisy stayed in the Blackpoint area until the middle of April and then began moving between Blackpoint and Homestead Bayfront Park until her tag quit working on 4/24/05 . Daisy was observed socializing with four other animals at the Blackpoint flood structure on 4/5/05 . The following week, she was observed feeding with three other animals (one was Bo) inside Blackpoint and then spotted towards the end of the week outside of Blackpoint with other animals by Miami-Dade DERM during an aerial survey. Daisy traveled back and forth between Blackpoint and Homestead Bayfront Park from 4/16-4/24. She was even documented by ARGOS inside Turkey Point Power Plant’s shipdock area on 4/22. Unfortunately, the last transmission we received from Daisy’s tag was around 7am on 4/24 just east of Military Canal ’s flood structure. A fisherman reported seeing Daisy the following day at Princeton Canal but we have not been able to relocate her. Miami-Dade DERM with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department conducted an aerial survey in the area to help us find Daisy but they were unsuccessful. The canal system in the area has been heavily searched via sonic and many days of monitoring high use manatee areas for her appearance has been conducted. A press release was done in the area but not all local media picked up the story. We are making arrangements for media source involvement next week to request help from the public in relocating Daisy. We will continue our search for Daisy by monitoring the high use manatee areas and possibly conduct another aerial survey of the area.

Bobber has been on the move. She immediately traveled to Indian River right after her release and was documented by ARGOS in areas near Rockledge, Plover Point and the causeway of SR528 over the next couple of days. She moved back into the Banana River on 5/17/05 and traveled south to the Crane Creek area. Bobber was observed with one other animal cavorting on 5/20. She continued her active behavior and traveled north the following day into a restricted area of the Banana River . Visuals for this animal will be difficult when she is in the far north region of Banana River due to NASA restricted access.

Bo and Daisy were released on 3/29/05 at Blackpoint Marina’s Manatee Sanctuary. At the time of release, we were unsure if there were any other animals in the area but about five minutes after the release, both animals were observed socializing with a wild manatee. Throughout the next hour, Bo and Daisy were observed socializing with each other and with up to six others animals in the area. Bo was even observed cavorting with a few of the other manatees. Just over an hour after their release, Bo and Daisy were both observed feeding on algae off rocks near the bank. Both animals remained in the Blackpoint Marina basin over the next few days. On 4/1, both animals were observed at the doors of Blackpoint’s flood structure diving down to the bottom with four other animals. This behavior is usually indicative of animals drinking at the seepage areas along the flood structure doors where the freshwater is leaking through.

Snorty was observed traveling north along the St. Johns River, north of Hontoon Island on 3/6 with a mother calf pair and one other animal. They were traveling along the shoreline and would dart under vegetation if boats got too close to their location. They traveled into Mud Lake and met up with two other animals and all then continued to travel north. It should also be noted that there was a lot of boat activity in the St. Johns on this day…142 boats passed these animals in a one hour period. Snorty was observed on 3/9 in Lake Woodruff feeding with six other animals. He was alone the morning of 3/18 in the Lake Woodruff area with water temperatures at 17 degrees, but that evening he traveled back to Blue Spring. On 3/21, Snorty traveled back to Lake Woodruff and was observed feeding with two other animals. He was again observed feeding on 3/30 this time with six animals in Lake Woodruff and there was a considerable amount of socializing occurring.

Scarface remained in Blue Spring after her re-reintroduction on 3/2 and remained until 3/14. She was observed in Lake Beresford with two mother calf pairs and one other animal. Initially she was observed alone milling along the bank when she changed course and swam in the opposite direction and meet up with another animal. She followed this animal into another area where there were the two mother calf pairs. All other animals appeared to be feeding on floating vegetation but Scarface appeared to be only observing and then bottom resting. When we did end the visual and depart from the area, all animals responded by avoiding our boat…including Scarface. She traveled north to an area north of Lake Dexter on 3/15 and quickly made a trip south to Blue Spring when the temperatures began to drop in the river on 3/18. Scarface remained in Blue Spring until 3/23 when she traveled north again to the Lake Dexter area. She was observed on 3/27 in Lake Dexter with several other animals feeding but she was very difficult to observe due to her reacting to the boat upon closer approach. Daisy was observed surface resting with eight other animals on 3/30 in Lake Dexter. Eight other animals moved into the area and most of the animals, including Daisy were observed feeding on floating vegetation. It should also be noted that Daisy has some cold stress blisters along her back but the good news is the water temperature in the area has risen considerably over the past few days to 24 degrees.

Snorty was observed passing Hontoon State Park around 2pm on 2/24. It could not be determined if he was with another animal at that time. By 7:30pm on 2/25, Snorty had swam over nine miles away from Blue Spring and was located via ARGOS in the Norris Dead River near Blue Peter Lake. He returned to Blue Spring on 2/26 and was observed by park staff with other animals near the mouth of the run the morning of 2/27. He was also observed at the mouth of the spring on 3/1 with several other animals.

Snorty was observed socializing with other animals on 3/2 and around 1pm he followed three animals out of Blue Spring to an ox bow in the river just north of Blue Spring. He was observed going under floating vegetation but we could not confirm he was eating at that time. We returned later in the afternoon and confirmed he was feeding on pennywort vegetation. He was surrounded by at least five other animals exhibiting the same behavior. At 6:20pm, Wayne Hartley at Blue Spring reported seeing Snorty in the spring run, bottom resting next to Scarface.

Scarface was observed in the southern portion of Hontoon Dead River on 2/25 slowly traveling north along the vegetation edge. She didn’t travel far and was located back in the southern portion of Hontoon Dead River on 2/26. Scarface was observed alone on 3/1 in a small portion of Snake Creek surrounded by large amounts of vegetation, swimming in tight circles (i.e. pacing behavior). She did not appear to be entangled and she did have an open area to obtain air. The water temperature was 15 degrees Celsius and her breathing rate was one every 1 ½ to 2 minutes. No animals were seen anywhere near her vicinity but a large number of manatees were noted at Blue Spring. Needless to say, we became very concerned and notified SeaWorld and USFWS. On 3/2, Scarface was again observed in Snake Creek pacing and the water temperature was still 15 Celsius. We notified SeaWorld and USFWS about the situation and requested to relocate Scarface back to Blue Spring. The reasons for the concern were as follows: Five days without showing any signs of moving out of the area; extreme cold water with continued cold weather conditions for the next week; no other wild animals in the area; large numbers of manatees being seen at Blue Spring (even Snorty moved back to the spring); pacing behavior indicating stress; potential that continued pacing behavior might reduce overall body condition/health; simple fact that she had not moved back to the spring when it got cold indicated that she had not learned where to go for warmth. All agreed it would be a good time to relocate her now instead of waiting for her to use up fat reserves or risk putting her into a further compromised health condition. Our hope was that upon this release into Blue Spring, the increased number of manatees in the run would increase her chances of learning the importance of the area for warm water and how to navigate the waterways.

Thus, Scarface was captured and relocated to Blue Spring late 3/2. The capture went very smoothly with minimal resistance. Blood was obtained prior to release by SeaWorld’s veterinarian Mike Walsh. Upon release, Scarface was observed milling around, socializing periodically. She quickly began to bottom rest with an occasional wild manatee waking her up due to nuzzling or tag tugging. Pacing behavior was not observed. At 620pm, Wayne Hartley at Blue Spring reported seeing Snorty in the spring run bottom resting next to Scarface. Scarface was observed bottom resting in Blue Spring most of the day on 3/3 along side other animals. She was also observed socializing for brief periods of time. Breathing rate was normal for a resting animal.

Thank you to all the SeaWorld crew for responding so quickly. As the public at Blue Spring watching the relocation yelled after the release of Scarface, “Way to go SeaWorld”.