Another Manatee Killed – This Death Marks the Fourth for 2021!
It’s less than three weeks into the new year, and four manatees have been killed; the two most recent happened over the weekend. Today, manatee conservationist Jamal Galvez of the Clear Water Aquarium Research Institute in Belize called us out to Seashore Drive in Belize City, where another corpse was found. Galvez says that they will perform a necropsy to determine what killed this female manatee. In a separate incident this past weekend, a male manatee was found with massive boat chops near the Bliss; it didn’t survive the accident. Galvez tells us that while they managed to reduce manatee deaths significantly last year, he fears that this year may spell trouble for the sea cows.
Jamal Galvez
Jamal Galvez, Programme Coordinator, Clear Water Marine Aquarium Research Institute (Belize)
“This year already, we are at the fourth incident – two of the four have already been confirmed as a result of water craft collision. The one today we haven’t been able to fully assess to determine the cause of death but it is a large female, possibly pregnant or recently had a calf. We are begging boaters and people to be aware of these species to ensure that you are following the regulations and adhering to no wake zones. On Saturday, we had a report of a manatee seen with huge lacerations across its back near the Bliss Institute. The manatee was alive initially but it was dead by the time we responded. It had numerous boat chops across its back with its lung coming out of it the wound and that tells you the magnitude of the impact. The only boats that are traversing that specific area are water taxis and one of those water taxis had to have inflicted the wound and didn’t report it and by port regulations you are mandated to report incidents such as these and we are encouraging people to do so. Last year, we were able to count twenty-four incidents and the year before was forty. So, we had a massive decrease which had to do with lockdown and people not moving around, less boaters, no tourism but things are opening up back again and we have to try and encourage the individuals on the waterways to be cautious when you are traversing these waterways. The lockdown has given manatees a false sense of safety with limited vessels on the water they may have gotten comfortable and they are not able to adapt to the change so quickly so we are begging boaters to be aware and cautions when traversing these areas.”
Galvez says that last week another female manatee with large gashes was spotted with her two calves and they are working to locate her to render aid.
