Funded by: U.S. Geological Survey Sirenia Project

Manatees are individually identifiable based on natural markings and scars resulting from encounters with boats and entanglement with fishing gear. The process of photographing individual manatees and analyzing their markings to determine an identification that is called photo-identification. Wildlife Trust is working with the USGS Sirenia Project to provide photo-identification coverage of manatees at Crystal River and Homosassa Springs, Florida. Photo-identification has been underway at these sites for over 30 years and has provided invaluable data.

Images are incorporated into the Manatee Individual Photo-Identification System (MIPS), a state-wide computerized database of manatee behavioral histories based on photo-identification information. This system provides valuable information on migration patterns, return rates to aggregation sites, calving intervals, and other life history parameters for manatees throughout the state of Florida. Information in this database is used to determine adult survivorship, one of the demographic benchmark criteria used for assessing the status of manatees.