Residents conduct autopsy on pregnant manatee

There is a tragic story about a manatee to report tonight. It follows several instances in which manatees have been hit by boat propellers. Some residents on the south side of the city found a manatee with a deep gash wound this morning. The manatee was pregnant but according to a local expert, it was too late to save its calf.

Jamal Galves, Manatee Associate, CZMAI and Sea 2 Shore Alliance

Jamal Galves

“Well about ten o’clock I got a call from one of my friends about a dead manatee in the Yarborough Area and I also got a call from Forestry. And the guy on the scene told me that the animal may be pregnant or may have a calf in the area. So I went and I canvassed the area and I didn’t see any visible calf, but I saw signs that the animal was actually pregnant –was dead. I went to the office to make some arrangements to get the animal removed from the area because the guy was concerned about the health hazards—in case the animal starts to smell and stuff. But when I came back the second time, I saw that they had already dissected the animal—some individuals from the area—they already dissected the animal and took the calf out. People were complaining to us about being late and not able to save the animal, but for me to have saved the animal I had to be there while the mother was still alive noh. And maybe take the calf from the animal. But the calf wasn’t even fully developed so if I had even cut it open, it wouldn’t have been able to safe because unlike human beings nine months, those animals take twelve months inside their mother’s wombs and it wasn’t fully developed to be born either. So regardless of the way the situation was handles…”

Jose Sanchez

“So you are saying once the mother was dead, there is nothing that you could have done?”

Jamal Galvez

“The minute the mother dies and the blood circulation stops, the fetus inside the animal will die as well. So there was nothing we could actually have done to that situation and if there were something we could have done, we would have more than be happy to address it.”

Jose Sanchez

“So even though the residents in the area clearly cut open the manatee and remove the dead calf, there is nothing they could have done either?”

Jamal Galvez

“There is nothing they could have done either. So nothing I could have done, they could have done. It is just a sad story and the hit that that mother had gotten was a very bad hit so I’d assume that the calf had gotten injured as a result of that hit as well.”