Mating manatees entertain foreshore

Belize is well known internationally for its large population of manatees…but how many of us have actually seen one up close? This morning if you happened to be on the Southern Foreshore near the Bliss, you would have seen, not one, but perhaps as many as eight manatees cavorting in the shallow muddy waters at the mouth of the Haulover Creek. A check with the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute reveals that the sighting of such a large number of the seagoing mammals is not that unusual, particularly during the months of May through August. The group was likely a mating herd in which one female entertains a much greater number of males, often in shallow water. The manatees lingered in the area for several hours. One of the group appeared to be carrying a radio transmitter, a device placed on a number of manatees around the country in an effort to track them by satellite to better understand their migratory habits.