Last week, the ESPA Latin America team was invited to tag and release four rehabilitated Antillean manatees with NGO, Wildtracks.
Antillean Manatee:
Belize is home to the Antillean manatee, a sub-species of the West Indian manatee. Nicknamed ‘sea cows’, manatees live in rivers, mangroves and lagoons and are actually the ancestral relation of the elephant. The Antillean manatee, considered globally endangered, is under increasing threat from habitat loss, water pollution and boat collisions. Over the last five years, Belize has seen a marked increase in the number of manatee strandings, with 40 deaths recorded in 2017. With less than around 1,000 individuals left in the wild, this rate of loss is not sustainable.
Wildtracks:
British conservation couple, Zoe and Paul Walker set up Wildtracks charity in 1990. They are working towards a sustainable future of the natural resources of Belize. Engaging with local government, partners and local communities, they are building awareness and capacity towards effective environmental stewardship at all levels. The Wildtracks Rehabilitation Centre has successfully released 9 manatees back into the wild, with a further 6 currently in care pending their release. Since 2008, they have maintained a 100% first year post release survivorship.
Tag and Release:
To tag a manatee, the team had to first corral each individual weighing almost 200kg into a sling. Then carefully hoist onto a padded mat on land. Manatees have 10 times the awareness of a dolphin. They use hypersensitive hairs on their body to perceive their surroundings in their murky habitat. Meaning that despite their size, they could easily navigate between the 15 pairs of legs in the ‘human wall’ surprisingly well! The next step was t0 weigh, measure and fit each individual with a satellite tracker and two microchips. For this, the team be hands on at all times, dousing them in water to help keep them calm. The final stage was to hoist the animal carefully back into the water and monitor closely for any signs of stress. 24 hours later, all four manatees were successfully released from their enclosure into the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Rewilded manatees have been a proven success in the Sanctuary. Some even came back to the enclosure during the tagging to see what was happening! It was an incredible process to be a part of, and we thank Wildtracks for the experience and support with ESPA’s ongoing projects.
