Tocc Tocc Reserve

Tomas and I would like to thank Save the Manatee Club for an amazing donation of a trolling motor, GPS and four life jackets, to be used for manatee surveys at the newly created Tocc Tocc Reserve in northern Senegal. This is the first reserve created specifically for the West African Manatee. Over the past few years, Tomas has worked very hard with the local community and the government of Senegal to get the reserve created. The area is a small lagoon on the western side of Lac de Guiers, a huge lake that provides drinking water for the capital city of Dakar and for local agriculture.

Tomas saw his first West African manatees here several years ago and realized that this quiet section of the lake, where manatees are now often observed, would be a great place to establish a sanctuary and hopefully someday an education center. The reserve is also an important habitat for the relatively rare Adanson's Mud Turtle (Pelusios adansoni) and many species of water birds and fish.

Last summer a university student worked at the reserve conducting manatee surveys (he had seven sightings) and interviewing members of the local community. This donated equipment is vital for further surveys and will provide greater safety and data accuracy. We hope to establish a database of year round sightings, organize a cleanup of derelict fishing nets and hopefully tag manatees so we can learn more about their habitat use patterns in the lake and the adjacent Senegal River. We are incredibly honored that Save the Manatee Club supports this work!

Pictured here is a view of Tocc Tocc Reserve, water lily paradise. So far I've documented 10 species of known manatee food plants there.

Reporting from West Africa, EcoHealth Alliance research scientist Lucy Keith is working on an extensive collaborative project to study West African manatees.