Belize's estimated One Thousand Manatees are constantly under threat.
Today, one obstacle to their survival became apparent when at an adult was trapped attempting to navigate Mexico Creek, a channel of water that flows under the bridge at Mile 21 on the Northern Highway.
The first report of the Manatee's predicament came from locals in the area, who reported that the water level had dropped, trapping the animal. The folks at Sea Shore Rescue and the Fisheries Department attempted all morning to rescue the adult Manatee. After dozens of failed attempts during a 4 hour span, the rescue had to be called off. There's been increasing concerns that as water levels drop the Manatee becomes easy prey for hunters and predators.
Nicole Auil Gomez - Conservation Biologist
"Manatees come up here, but as the dry season is now on us, or the rainy season is now over, the water level begins to decrease, and the manatees get trapped. And local information has told us that when it gets low enough, and the manatees are considered stranded, they are general easy prey for hunters. A hunter may take the animal. So we made a decision to catch the animal and transport it to the main river. Right now, the animal cannot pass because of the rapids, and the system is not considered sustainable. There is not really enough vegetation, and it's going to be decreasing the water level."
Jose Sanchez - Channel 5 News
"During the past 4 hours of the operation, which started at 10, what has happened?"
Nicole Auil Gomez
"Well, we've identified the animal, several times, and the main crew that have come, we have people from the fisheries department, the Gales Point Community, and we also have the Coastal Zone Management Authority. And we're all here to try and catch the animal, and we've made several attempts to draw the animal down into a large, specialize, manatee capture net. We have seen the animal several times trying to enclose it, but it has not been successful."
Jim McFadzean
"Have you estimated or determined the size of the manatee? And what are the migratory paterns; Have you established what's their migratory pattern in Belize?"
Nicole Auil Gomez
"Well, that's a very good question about the migration because these systems, we're not really looking at. The river systems are particularly difficult because there are so many tributaries. The manatees can go anywhere. We do tagging, captures and tracking in Belize City, and in certain lagoons. We've done it in Placencia, and right now, none of the animals that we've specifically tagged, has come to a type of system."
Jim McFadzean
"And the estimate size so far is?"
Nicole Auil Gomez
"When I first saw it, it looked like an adult. The original report from the locals in the village was that there were 2, and the smaller one has already made its way across a couple weeks ago. We have identified it, and it looks like a sizeable adult, or a sub-adult. It's not a calf. We're not expecting that it's going to be a dependent animal. We're expecting that it's an independent animal that can survive on its own."
Manatees are attracted to fresh water.
Belize is home to the sub-specie known as the Antillean Manatee, which is on a worldwide endangered list and the country also boasts the largest population of its kind.
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