Manatees

Manatees are marine mammals, like dolphins. Jacob cares about them because of people who have spent their lives studying and helping them — and because he has stood on the boat during the exams.

In June 2024, when he was 11, he met Jamal Galves, Dr. James “Buddy” Powell, and Tanya Ward at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Jamal was the same age when he first met Dr. Powell. That night is on the meeting conservation heroes note.

The expeditions that followed — including a male named Jake, Todd (more than 860 lb), and Celeshia (about 903 lb) — are on Belize 2025 and Belize 2026.

What their work is about

CMA Research Institute’s Belize manatee program grew from field work Dr. Powell helped start in the 1990s. Jamal Galves, who began as an 11-year-old volunteer on those trips, now leads the Belize team. CMA describes the work as research, rescue, education, and stronger protection in places manatees live.

A typical assessment Jacob saw includes capture in safe shallow water, a timed health exam, urine and blood sampling, tissue sampling, identification marks, and sometimes a PIT tag or a temporary belt tag, then release.

Respiration is watched the whole time the animal is on the boat. If a manatee goes about a minute without a breath, the team stimulates it. Jacob built a breath-tracker app that logs each breath and sounds an alert at that one-minute mark, then field-tested it in Belize in 2026.

In Florida, CMA’s Dr. James “Buddy” Powell Manatee Rehabilitation Center gives rescued Florida manatees a place to finish recovering before some of them can go back to the wild. Tanya Ward manages that care. CMA is part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership. CMA and NOAA publish current guidance.

What people can do

CMA’s manatee page lists practical steps such as slowing boats in manatee zones, watching for animals in the water, and reporting injured manatees through official rescue numbers — not through this site.