If you’ve ever seen a manatee, chances are you were in Florida—but these aquatic relatives of the elephant also live across 21 African countries. In this episode, 2017 Pew marine fellow Lucy Keith-Diagne discusses the African manatees that live in remote, murky waters, and explains what makes this species different from other manatees and the challenges marine scientists experience in collecting data on them.

Since this episode first aired in 2018, Keith-Diagne and her fellow researchers have collaborated at the first-ever African manatee conference and are initiating new work to help protect this species.