SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB

Some 537 manatees have died in 2022 so far, the majority of which were found in the Indian River Lagoon.

ORLANDO, Fla. — If you are floundering for ideas of what to get your mom for Mother’s Day, Maitland’s Save the Manatee Club is happy to float the idea of adopting her a manatee. The best part: she won’t have to feed, house or clean up after the new member of the family. Club officials said she will receive a personalized adoption certificate, photo and biography of a real living manatee. Manatee adoptions start at $25, and include a one-year Save the Manatee Club membership that contains a newsletter with updates on adoptable manatees as well as other important manatee information. Personalized adoption certificates are instantly emailed, so manatee adoptions make a great last-minute gift.

Man can’t save the environment alone. We need help from machines. From drones to artificial intelligence and webcams, scientists increasingly turn to technology in their work to solve the world’s

ORANGE CITY, Fla. — West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority has adopted “Gator” the manatee to help support the work of the Save the Manatee Club in Central Florida. WATCH: Brevard County reports increased number of manatee deathsGator the manatee was adopted this month to help with efforts to support the manatee population in Florida. Gator, a frequent visitor to Blue Spring State Park, was identified in 2011 when he was seen on a Save the Manatee Club’s webcam chasing and playing with an alligator, thus earning him his name. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Blue Spring State Park staff recently counted a record number of manatees in their waters. Gator’s exact birth date is not known, but it’s believed he was among a group of yearling manatees seen at Blue Spring during the 2010-2011 winter season.

Starvation is blamed for a record number of manatee deaths in Florida this year, with at least 1,075 recorded in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s preliminary 2021 report so far.

Three conservation groups moved Monday toward filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection over water-quality problems that have led to a record number of...

Mandy and her calf Manilow were released Wednesday morning near Blue Spring.

Fish and Wildlife Service, and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens have all tried rescue attempts to separate "Schwinn" from the tire trap, to no avail. The naturally suspicious Schwinn steered well clear of any and all rescue boats (and who can blame the creature for wanting to avoid a species that throws whole bicycle tires into rivers? ).Researchers aren't exactly certain how the manatee made the daring escape but — are you ready for this sadness? — the tire had been somewhat weakened by a boat propeller that struck Schwinn in February. This manatee is a hero.Schwinn unfortunately has deep scars from the lengthy period of tire encirclement, but other than that, seems to be doing as well as can be expected, and quite contented to vacation in Blue Spring State Park.

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – A manatee that a year ago was seen swimming around Blue Spring State Park with a bicycle tire cinching its waist has returned to the crystal clear waters free of the trap. Officials from Save the Manatee Club said Friday they don’t know how the manatee managed to shake the tire lose but they mentioned that Wheelie, as the manatee was called by the public, was struck by a boat’s propeller in February and that strike cut and weakened the tire. Also called Schwinn by researchers, the manatee now has deep scars around its midsection where the bike tire was once entangled. Wheelie the manatee now has scars from where a bike tire was stuck around its waist. Save the Manatee Club manatee research associate Cora Berchem first spotted Wheelie on Wednesday on an above-water livestreaming webcam.

click image Photo courtesy Save the Manatee Club via Blue Springs State Park/FacebookWith temperatures in Central Florida hitting the low 30s Tuesday, most of us are staying in. While the weather is cooling down, the water at Blue Spring State Park keeps a consistent temperature of about 72 degrees, according to Save the Manatee Club. On Tuesday, Blue Spring State Park — located in Orange City — counted 16 manatees, a significant increase from the five counted on Nov. 27.For those who would like to watch the manatees from the warmth of their home, check out the live underwater and above-water webcams at Blue Spring State Park and Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.The high visibility of manatees in Blue Spring State Park has produced one of the longest-running manatee genealogy records in Florida, according to Save the Manatee Club. It has also become a popular site for rehabilitated manatees to be released.So far, 2020 has not been a good year for manatees, though. The Florida Wildlife Commission has reported 510 manatee deaths in Florida this year, up from the 457 reported for the same period in 2019.

The Save the Manatee Club, in partnership with Blue Spring State Park, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute and Volusia County, is in need of volunteers to be manatee observers. The volunteer program operates from March to November at Blue Spring State Park because that is “swim season” when park visitors may come in contact with manatees. The volunteers are there to “help prevent manatee harassment and to educate visitors about proper behavior around manatees. Two mandatory training sessions are scheduled at Blue Spring State Park on March 5 and March 14 at 10 a.m. for two to three hours. To sign up, email cberchem@savethemanatee.org with your preferred training date and whether you’d like a kayak training session.

On Jan. 30, volunteers with Save the Manatee counted 421 manatees at the park.Officials have been notified and are monitoring the manatee. To report an injured manatee in Florida, call 1-888-404-3922. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Unlike many newspapers, ours is free and we'd like to keep it that way, because we believe, now more than ever, everyone deserves access to accurate, independent coverage of their community. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press