A. J. Schiro G. T. Regan Cathy A. Beck N. Adimey L. Price-May A. Amos Graham A.J. Worthy R. Crossland D. Fertl 2005 <p><span>Reports of West Indian manatees (</span><i>Trichechus manatus</i><span>) in the US Gulf of Mexico west of Florida have increased during the last decade. We reviewed all available manatee sighting, capture, and carcass records (n = 377) from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas since the early 1900s; only 40 of these were previously published. Manatees were reported most often in estuarine habitats, usually either near a freshwater source or natural or industrial warm-water springs/runoffs during winter months. The recent increase in manatee records may be due to a combination of increased public awareness and dispersal of manatees, most likely seasonal migrants from Florida. We caution that the presence of artificial warm-water sources outside of the manatee&rsquo;s traditional range may attract an increasing number of manatees and could increase the incidence of cold-related mortality in this region.</span></p> application/pdf 10.18785/gcr.1701.07 en University of Southern Mississippi Manatee occurrence in the northern Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida article