Two manatees tagged, tracked in Ala.

MOBILE BAY, Ala. - TRACKING RARE CREATURES

It's a first for Alabama. Two manatees in Mobile Bay are now wearing tracking devices and researchers are following their every move. It's valuable information that will shed light on some of the bay's most elusive visitors.

Droopy William has had the rare privilege of seeing a manatee in Mobile Bay.

"About seven, eight people came out here that had their boats and see him, and he worked his way right between the pillars," William said.

In a lifetime on the bay, William thought he had seen it all. But even for him, seeing a manatee was a first.

"It's just a neat thing to see them, see anything that look like that," William said. "You wouldn't believe it when you first see it."

THE CAPTURE

Sightings like that have become more common in recent years around Mobile Bay, and researchers have been dying to find out why. Last weekend they got their chance, when they captured three manatees in the bay.

Two of those manatees are now wearing tracking devices. They can be followed by Dr. Ruth Carmichael and her team at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

"It's a lot of work to get a 1,600-pound animal out of the water and on a boat," said Dr. Carmichael.

But she says its worth the effort. Following the animals from her desktop, she's now getting a good idea of where they go and why.

What the researchers have found is that the manatees prefer areas where the water is fresh, and where they can find their favorite vegetation. That vegetation tends to be around the edges of the bay.

Dr. Carmichael is also trying to figure out how many animals are in our waters. She says her estimate of 12 to 25 may be low since they saw 11 manatees last weekend alone.

"We always knew our estimate was conservative, but I think we were surprised by the potential of the number of animals that are in our bay," Carmichael said.

They also found the manatees were in good health and showed no major propeller scars. In Alabama there's never been a reported case of a boat striking one of these creatures.

"We'd like to keep it that way," she said. "We'd certainly hope by educating the public about when and where to expect to see these animals; and just simply that they're here in Alabama waters we can reduce the likelihood of having a boat strike, and then we can share the waters with these animals."

So we can hope these gentle creatures keep returning every summer.

THEY NEED YOUR HELP

If you want to help fund the research of our local manatees you can pre-order an Alabama manatee tag. One thousand people need to sign up for the tags before it will become a permanent plate. Ninety percent of the cost goes directly back into the research.

Manatee plate: http://manatee.disl.org/LgPlateFlyer_Updated.pdf

Your eyes are needed as well. If you spot a manatee call 1-866-493-5803 or go online: http://manatee.disl.org/.

Also, check out Dr. Carmichael's entire interview so you can learn more about the animals and the research.