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.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Happy New Year!!
I have no idea where the time went this past Fall! I apologize for my silence the past few months. I'm now wrapping up my work and life in Gainesville, FL and preparing for the big move back to Africa in March. I'll be based in Senegal and am very excited to get back to African manatee fieldwork.
Big things are coming for the African manatee project in 2015! These include:
- continuing development of long-term study sites and partnerships in Senegal
- in collaboration with the USFWS, I'll begin a new two year training program for manatee graduate students from Central Africa, called MENTOR Manatee
- continuation of support for our projects in Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, and Mali
- work on 7 manatee scientific manuscripts...hopefully several will be published in 2015!
- continuing African manatee population genetics in collaboration with colleagues at the USGS Sirenia Project
- and much more!
Wishing everyone a successful and happy 2015!
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