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Manatees add extra attraction at Battleship

By Tiffany Craig

Published: Tue, August 21, 2007 - 4:46 pm Last Updated: Wed, August 22, 2007 - 10:47 pm

Short URL: http://wkrg.com/a/4606/

Tourists were not the only ones hanging around the U.S.S. Alabama. Two massive mammals made an unexpected stop at the Mobile hotspot.

Ed Behm dangles his head over the water, watching for the manatees. News 5's Tiffany Craig says, "If they stick around longer you can add that to the attraction list." He says, "No charge at all. If we could just get a saddle on one, it would be a new ride." It takes some patience to actually spot one. Karen Conner says she's only seen them at Sea World! "They told me watch for the bubbles and that's what we started doing. Sure enough, there were two out here." Manatees are not common in Mobile Bay. So, after snapping a few pictures, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab was called. Marine Scientist Dr. Ruth Carmichael is grateful to get involved. "As often as people can call in! And not just one time! If you see them repeatedly, that info is very important. That's why we're excited to talk to people about it and let them know what we're doing. It's an ongoing effort." Manatees are a top study for the sea lab and could be moved from the endangered list to threatened. Dr. Carmichael says studying their behavior will help. "Getting this kind of info on where they are, what they're doing, and what kind of resources they're using will help us better inform those kind of management decisions." For now, Look out Sea World! The Battleship has manatees too!

If you spot a manatee, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab wants to know about it. Call them at 1-866-493-5803 or you reach them by at http://manatee.disl.org/