I usually keep this webpage fully focused on manatee conservation and related topics, but on this historic day I have to make an exception. It was incredible to wake up here in Libreville, Gabon this morning to find out Obama had WON! I couldn’t believe it was real until I’d watched an hour of CNN at the American Embassy celebration I attended with fellow Americans here. Everywhere in Libreville people are cheering for Obama. I do wish, on this one day, that I could be in the USA to experience the excitement with everyone there. But the African perspective is neat as well, because hopes have been so high for Obama on this continent (and from what I read, in most other countries in the world as well) that I feel bouyed by a sense of hope and expectation for the world that I have never experienced to this extent before. I hope that Obama can live up to the potential we all dream of. Like many of you, I hope for a better economy, an end to the war in Iraq, more real emphasis on protecting the environment, and so many other things. If he does lead as we hope, it has ramifications that literally can reach as far as wildlife conservation, including for some very rare manatees (and the other species they share their rainforest and lagoon habitat with) living here in West Africa.