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Today was my first chance to get in the water with manatees this year! We drove to a dock near Banana Island where the researchers from the Sirenia Project keep their boat. That is where we met Mr. Dean Easton and Mrs. Susan Butler. (See Wayne's notes.) We wanted to go with them because we knew that all of you would be interested in what real scientists do when they study manatees. And we found out that they study manatees by taking their pictures! Both Susan and Dean use special underwater cameras called Nikonos cameras. (Wayne and I own several Nikonos cameras,too.) They each took lots of pictures of the manatees' tails so that they can study the scars that the manatees have. The scars were caused by the propellers of boats hitting the manatees as they come up for air. Also, they used special underwater slates to make their notes about the scars. Susan even measured each manatee that she saw with a special measuring stick. She said that the largest manatee that she measured today was 310 centimeters. (How many feet is that?) We told Susan and Dean about the students all across the country who are very interested in manatees. I asked them if they had any advice for those students who may someday want to be manatee scientists when they grow up. They both said that it is important to study math and science in school. Also Susan said that you can start right now just by looking very closely at nature and the outdoors and noticing what is around you. So, be inquisitive about the animals and plants that live in your neighborhood! So, I really had a lot of fun today just following our two new friends from the Sirenia Project as they did their work with the manatees. What a fun job they have! |
Susan loves her job, getting paid to work with manatees. (Notice her scratching this manatee's head.)
Susan measures a manatees tail. (This is what a manatee's tail should look like.)
Compare this manatee tail to the one above. This is an example of serious tail damage from a boat propeller! |
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Day 3
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