In Search of 'Mamiwata'

Mamiwata is an African name for a spirit believed to be embodied by the manatee. This blog chronicles my search for the elusive African manatee, and my exploration to understand its biology, habitat and preservation needs, economic and cultural significance. So little is known about this animal, yet it is intensely hunted almost everywhere it exists and may already be gone from much of its previous range. In 2006 I was inspired to go find and study them, starting in Gabon.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Time To Go!

Sunday morning I head out the door and back to Africa! My doctoral qualifying exams are finished and I'm now an official PhD candidate! So now I'm really excited to get back out to the field. I'll spend the next 3 months in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and hopefully the Gambia, where I'll be collecting data and samples, doing surveys, and training African colleagues. I'm armed with my camera as well as a new video camera, so I hope to finally be able to get some decent video of our fieldwork to post. So I'm off....once I figure out how to fit it all in my luggage, that is!