Bimini's Chubby Visitor - the Manatee

Since late November, a large manatee has been seen slowly patrolling the shallow waters around Bimini. First sighted near Radio Beach on North Bimini, the manatee has been making regular swims up into the Alice Town harbor, hanging out under the docks and creating quite a sight for both locals and visitors.

While manatees are not found in large populations in the Bahamas, there are some islands that report regular sightings of these gentle marine mammals. Although by most people's accounts, the last time a manatee was seen in Bimini was over a decade ago.

Due to Bimini's lack of freshwater, the island is not considered suitable habitat for the manatee and there are preliminary plans being drawn up to transport the animal to South Florida. A team of researchers, including members from the US Coast Guard, Miami Seaquarium, & U.S.G.S have already visited Bimini to evaluate the manatee. They were also able to attach a satellite transmitter to the animal so that its movements can be monitored over the next few weeks. There are also plans to try to genetically sample the manatee to determine where it originated from.

Due to manatees' Threatened status in the wild, careful consideration is being put on the welfare of this animal. The end-goal of the researchers is that they will be able to return it to where it came from and release it back into the wild.

Check Bimini Sands Blog for more info at: www.biminiblog.blogspot.com

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