The good folks at Idea Wild have just notified me that they are funding my request to buy a VHF radio receiver and antenna for manatee tracking work in Gabon. This is a really nice small grant that will allow me to buy a vital piece of equipment, so that once I put satellite tags on manatees, I can follow them to document their travel patterns, behavior, habitat use, etc. I’ll also use the receiver to train Gabonese biologists and students manatee field research techniques. Idea Wild is a non-profit organization that funds specific equipment that field biologists and conservationists need to do their job, often in remote parts of the world. So thanks to them I am one step closer to being able to tag and track the elusive West African manatee!