NEW YORK – A group of specialists from the National Aquarium of the Dominican Republic prepares three manatees to return them to the sea, an arduous task, as they must learn to feed themselves and get away from the human being, responsible for the injuries that caused their rescue and captivity.
There are two females and one male: the oldest, Juana and Pepe, are already eight years old and only lived a few months in their natural environment, which complicates their adaptation to the environment, while Lupita has only three and has been in captivity for two, so He has a certain advantage in adjusting to life in freedom.
The process of preparing to live in their true environment began a few months ago and involves, among other aspects, conducting medical evaluations to monitor the condition of their skin or their heart rate, according to sources from the Ministry of the Environment.
Two controls have already been carried out that have allowed the veterinarians to determine that they are in perfect condition, although they have two other consultations with the doctors pending before returning to the sea, predictably, next December.
The issue of food is a crucial point, since the three were used to being fed fruits and vegetables on the surface and, when they are in their natural habitat, these mammals feed on herbs found on the seabed.
In this sense, the three manatees have taken “a big step” because they have already become accustomed to looking for their food totally submerged, thanks to an ingenious system of tubes that they have placed at the bottom of the pools that they have known until now as home.
While the time comes to return them to the ocean, their contact with humans, their main predator in nature and responsible for the injuries that led to their rescue, has been completely restricted.
For Juana it is not a big problem, she has been elusive since she arrived at the National Aquarium in 2012 from Las Terrenas (northeast coast), after being brutally attacked with ten stab wounds.
Lupita, who owes her name to the place where she was rescued in 2018, Luperón, is friendlier, albeit calm.
But Pepe, who was hit by a boat in 2012 in Haina waters, is very affectionate and constantly seeks contact with the center’s staff, who are forced to ignore him due to his frequent attempts to approach and calls for attention.
The last step before releasing them will be to place trackers on them to know their position when they are in open water, although they will spend some time protected within a marine fence until they have been made to the habitat in which they were born.
For this reason, it will be necessary to determine in advance the exact point of the coast where the liberation will take place, with Bayahibe being the most likely enclave to establish that security perimeter that will be the prelude to the most absolute freedom in the waters of the Caribbean Sea.
– .
