Manatees and dugongs are an iconic and charismatic subject for underwater photographers. In this episode of Wetpixel Live Alex shares some of his lovely images and he and Adam then discuss some of the techniques and locations that can help create memorable pictures of them.
Florida may be on track to have the highest year of recorded manatee deaths on record. The number collected up to March 2nd is at 166, with 51 of those due to cold, while the remaining are due to red tide and boat collisions. Manatee deaths in the state are progressively on the rise up from 472 in 2016 to 538 in 2017. While it is true that manatee populations are on the rise, they face rising threats posed by ever increasing human populations in the state.
Rescuers have saved two manatees stranded by Florida bay waters receding in the onslaught of Hurricane Irma. The manatees were spotted and rescued by Steven Reisinger, Michael Sechler, Marcelo Clavijo, and Donavan Norton. The rescuers were able to roll the manatees onto tarps and drag them 100 yards to deeper water where they swam off.
In the second of his series of guides for Wetpixel, Don Silcock has shared his words and images of diving and photographing Florida manatees at Crystal River, Florida.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has announced that the existing regulations for viewing, filming and photographing manatees in Three Sisters Spring will stay in force for the coming season.
Well known manatee hot spot, Three Sister’s Springs in Crystal River, Florida is at the center of a controversy between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a group looking to ban people from interacting with manatees during the cold winter months.
An apparent combination of low tides and cold weather created an influx of over 300 manatees (Trichechus manatus) into Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River, Florida on Monday. This lead to the US Fish and Wildlife Service issuing a temporary closure (to the public) of Three Sisters Springs.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) closed the Three Sisters Springs over the weekend of 13 and 14 December, due to the cold weather causing a high concentration of manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)). In turn this caused “high turbidity” making the area unsuitable for swimmers. If the colder weather continues, it is likely that there will be more closures in future. Please bear in mind that there are other areas where manatees can be viewed, although it will be worth checking with the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge by email prior to your visit if you are planning to go there.
Filmmaker Joe Romeiro has posted a sample of his manatee footage, most of which was shot at Crystal River, Florida. Joe shot it all on a RED EPIC housed in a Nauticam housing with a glass Zen dome in 5k at about 95 fps .
A paper published in the peer reviewed journal Journal of Comparative Physiology A has shown that Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) have the ability to sense water movements thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. They do this via sense receptors in their facial whiskers.