Field-testing a manatee breath tracker

On May 25, 2026, the Belize manatee team started the day with dolphins near the boat, then completed health assessments on two males.

Jacob field-tested a breath-tracker app he built. During an exam he taps each breath. The phone stores the time, keeps an average breaths-per-minute rate, and sounds an alert if the manatee has not breathed in one minute — the same pause he had learned to watch for by hand on Belize 2025, when the team stimulated respiration by wetting the snout.

He planned to keep adjusting it at home for aquariums and conservationists. This site does not claim it is listed in an app store.

The full write-up is The manatee breath tracker. That season’s notes are on Belize 2026.