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An Investigation of Factors Promoting Success or Failure of Releases of Sirenians after Being
Held in Captivity, as Pertinent to the Proposed Reintroduction of Antillean Manatees
(Trichechus manatus manatus) to Guadeloupe
Thomas J. O’Shea
P.O. Box 65
Glen Haven, Colorado 80532, USA
and
John E. Reynolds, III
Mote Marine Laboratory
Sarasota, Florida, 34236, USA
31 July 2012
Submitted to Parc National de la Guadeloupe
Cité Guillard
97100 Basse-Terre
Photograph courtesy of Patrick M. Rose.
Executive Summary
Reintroduction of sirenians to historically occupied areas has never been attempted.
Successful wildlife reintroductions require analytical planning of many factors of possible
importance prior to implementation. In this report we investigate one facet of this planning,
namely the potential for using captive individuals as a source for reintroduction of the Antillean
subspecies (Trichechus manatus manatus) of the West Indian manatee to formerly occupied
waters of Guadeloupe, French West Indies. This review summarizes available information
pertinent to the release of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) and other sirenians
from captivity to wild habitats. We also describe results from one study by others that used
soft-release pens for rehabilitated Florida manatees. In addition, we summarize findings from a
questionnaire survey we distributed to knowledgeable people in the range of Antillean
manatees to compile data from their experiences in monitoring released captive manatees, and
to update information about the number of Antillean manatees currently held in captivity.
No successful releases of captive dugongs have taken place, and to our knowledge none
has taken place for West African manatees. At least 16 captive Amazonian manatees, ten or
more raised as orphaned calves, have been released and tracked by telemetry. Four of these
were known failures. Early published accounts of releases during the period of the 1960s-1980s
are available for about 11 Florida manatees. Many of these were not carefully monitored for
long periods, but two were known to survive for 2.7 years or longer. Concerted efforts to
monitor released Florida manatees by telemetry began in the late 1990s, and we obtained
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results from analyses of these releases by Adimey et al. (2009) and Adimey (2011a). A total of
107 manatees (49 females, 58 males) were tracked after release from 1998 through 2008,
including 15 captive-born individuals. A release was considered a “success” if post-release
survival for one year or longer was documented, a “failure” if the manatee was known to die
within the first year, and “incomplete” if tags were detached, intervention was required, or
other complications arose. Sixty-six of 107 manatee releases were successes (62%), 6 were
failures (6%), and 35 were incompletes (33%). The probability of success was related to the size
of the manatee when it was rescued (the larger the animal, the greater the likelihood of
success), as well as to the change in size during the rehabilitation period. Individuals that were
orphaned calves when rescued had the lowest likelihood of success (48-61%) and those the size
of sexually mature adults at rescue (275-338 cm) had the greatest likelihood of success (7683%). (Size at rescue can be considered as a proxy for amount of experience in the wild prior to
being taken into captivity.) Length of time in captivity was not as good a predictor of success as
size at rescue. There was no indication of any relationship between sex and success rate.
Captive-born manatees and manatees orphaned as calves had the lowest success rate. Adimey
(2011c) noted that of 45 released manatees that were initially rescued as orphaned calves: 22
(49%) were successes, 22 were incompletes (with 14 fate unknown, and 8 monitored for < 1
year at writing), and 1-2 were failures.
Far fewer Antillean manatees have been released after rehabilitation in captivity, and
most of those that were monitored by post-release telemetry were orphaned calves when
rescued. However, the success rate seems good. We obtained information for about 28
Antillean manatees that were monitored by telemetry after release. About half of these were
released and tracked in coastal Brazil, but full details on this group were not available. Three
case studies from Puerto Rico document survival of 2 of 3 rehabilitated orphaned Antillean
manatee calves released in seagrass habitat; one individual is still alive at 15 years post-release,
and one is alive nearly two years post-release. The third died. Interventions were required to
support both cases of survivors. It is our understanding that each of these three manatees used
areas with freshwater for drinking after release. Three manatees raised as orphans were
released and tracked by VHF telemetry in Belize for periods of 1-6 years and all were alive when
last seen. Nine captive manatees (held captive for 2-20 years) were released in freshwater
habitats in Colombia and tracked by VHF and satellite telemetry. In most cases tracking was
short-term due to tag detachment, but these manatees were tracked for periods of 1-6 months
post-release without mortality. One captive-raised orphan in Colombia was tracked for 6
months without intervention.
One unpublished study documented behavior of rehabilitated manatees held in softrelease enclosure pens in seagrass habitats in Florida. This topic is of importance because of
plans to construct soft-release facilities at Guadeloupe in natural seagrass habitats. This was
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the only use of pre-release pens in Florida. Subjects were 10 males. Conclusions are limited
given variability in multiple factors during the observation period. The most salient findings
from these observations were those pertaining to adaptation to bottom feeding, time to
acclimation in pens, lack of importance of prior associations among pen mates for acclimation,
and the overall conclusion that acclimation to soft-release pens can occur. The ultimate fates
of these manatees were mixed despite the pre-release experience. Five of the ten died within 3
years of release (four within 1 year), two were known to be long term survivors (17-21 years),
and fates of three were unknown. However, most of the factors responsible for the deaths that
were observed were fairly unique to Florida: exposure to cold winter weather or death by
collisions with boats or crushing in flood control gates. Most of the manatees that were known
to have died had survived appreciable lengths of time after release (months or years), showing
that adaptation to feeding on natural foods had occurred. Housing at soft-release pens
planned for Guadeloupe would help managers to observe and condition the behavior of highrisk individuals as needed, as well as acclimate all translocated manatees to prevailing climatic
and biotic conditions at the release area.
In addition to availability, the choice of using captive Antillean manatees that were
raised as orphans (or born in captivity) versus wild-captured manatees or manatees taken
captive as adults or subadults as source individuals for reintroduction will involve several
considerations. These include the likelihood of (a) survival, (b) either dispersal away from
Guadeloupe or sedentary behavior, (c) reproducing after reintroduction, (d) the need for
intensive monitoring and possible intervention, and (e) harboring disease prior to introduction.
The genetic characteristics of the source individuals requires assessment by experts as some
individuals that might otherwise be considered appropriate may be hybrids resulting from
interbreeding of Florida (T.m. latirostris) and Antillean manatees or of Amazonian (T. inunguis)
and Antillean manatees. General considerations affecting candidates for release based on
other species of wildlife are provided in a companion report (O’Shea and Reynolds 2012). An
important factor to consider is that the effects of translocating adult Antillean manatees from a
wild population and the message it sends to people and communities in areas from which those
animals might be taken may disqualify them from consideration. Based on experiences in
Florida, manatees taken into captivity that have prior experience in the wild have the greatest
likelihood of survival. This is especially true if they were adults or subadults at the time of
capture. Experience with orphans raised in captivity, which may be the largest pool of currently
captive Antillean manatees, shows that in Florida the chances of survival to one year was 49%,
whereas Florida manatees taken into captivity as adults had a 76-83% chance of survival to one
year. In either case the proportions that can potentially fail during the first attempt at release
will dictate a substantial likelihood for one or more re-captures, interventions, and re-releases
at some point after the initial release.
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There are cautions needed in application of findings from Florida to inferences about
fates of releases in Guadeloupe. Florida manatees that are released after rehabilitation are
subject to management actions (recaptures and interventions) based on certain conditions
unique to Florida. Intervention and recapture may occur because of approaching winter with no
signs of movement to warmer places, or high use of areas with dangerous conditions such as
heavy boat traffic or possible entrapment in locks, canals, or other human-made structures.
Cold winter conditions do not occur at Guadeloupe, and the level of boat traffic is much lower
than in Florida. Thus a greater proportion of “incompletes” and interventions (Adimey et al.
2009) as well as failures may be expected from the Florida manatee release program than
might occur in Guadeloupe.
Although habitat at Guadeloupe may appear suitable, manatees are capable of moving
long distances, and individuals translocated to Guadeloupe could disperse to waters in other
national jurisdictions or the open sea in a matter of hours. Releases of rehabilitated manatees
in Florida are deemed successful if the manatees remain healthy and follow seasonal
movement patterns and use of winter aggregation areas similar to those of wild Florida
manatees. The same criteria regarding movements are not applicable to manatees that are
released at Guadeloupe. First, there is no firm knowledge of what “normal” or traditional
movement patterns and seasonal use areas might have been in Guadeloupe. Manatees in
Guadeloupe may have been more sedentary than in many parts of Florida, perhaps on a par
with most current-day Antillean manatees sampled at Puerto Rico or Mexico, or in warmer
parts of Florida. An immediate goal for the initial releases at Guadeloupe should be to establish
a sedentary manatee population capable of intrinsic growth, and to avoid long-distance
movement patterns that may be characteristic of manatees in the source population. Released
wild-captured manatees that had such movement behavior naturally entrained might be more
prone than captives to disperse away from Guadeloupe. Limited data from released, captive,
orphaned Antillean manatees suggest that most are sedentary after release. There is also great
individual heterogeneity in natural movement patterns of wild West Indian manatees, with
some individuals being very wide-ranging. Therefore the likelihood of individual wild-captured
adults or subadults from mainland populations dispersing away from Guadeloupe will be
unknown, but may very well be greater than that of manatees raised in captivity as orphans.
Additional considerations about dispersal appear in the companion report (O’Shea and
Reynolds 2012).
There is little information to evaluate the likelihood of post-release reproduction
because most tracking efforts do not monitor released manatees for periods long enough to
observe mating and a complete gestation period. We found published evidence that five
released captive Florida manatee females raised as orphans successfully reproduced after
surviving release to the wild. One Antillean manatee gave birth nine years after release, but the
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newborn died. Thus it is not possible to judge how long the delay to successful reproduction
may be in manatees reintroduced to Guadeloupe. If they do not disperse, wild-captured or
short-term captive adults could be as likely or more likely to reproduce after release than
captive-raised orphans, or they could suffer delays in reproduction from the stress of capture
and translocation.
Intensive monitoring by telemetry will be required for all manatees released at
Guadeloupe, coupled with periodic veterinary health assessments. Based on experience with
Florida manatees and Antillean manatees at Puerto Rico, interventions can be expected and
may be more frequent for captive-raised orphans. Source manatees held elsewhere prior to
translocation to Guadeloupe should be trained to wear telemetry assemblies and to forage on
bottom-growing foods in captivity at their point of origin to reduce additive stress during
translocation and housing under pre-release conditions at Guadeloupe.
Medical histories of wild-captured and short-term captives will be unknown.
Quarantine and veterinary medical assessments should be required for any manatee prior to
translocation to Guadeloupe. The likelihood of harboring an incubating disease organism will
also be dependent on length of time the subject animal has been isolated from wild manatees,
as well as on the conditions at holding facilities. Medical histories of manatees raised in
captivity as orphaned calves are usually better known. The genetic background of source
individuals can be readily determined from manatees held in captivity. The genetic background
of wild-captured manatees can only be determined after they have been captured. The
potential for predation or harassment by sharks should be ascertained prior to initial
translocations. Presumedly, wild-captured manatees will be more likely to be wary and to
escape predation than captive-raised orphans. Wild-captured manatees will have fewer
ingrained tendencies to seek human contact, but this behavior can be quickly acquired in
captivity. Human interaction should be intentionally minimized for all source manatees while
held at sites of origin and in pre-release enclosures at Guadeloupe.
Considerable additional formal analyses, planning, and monitoring will be necessary to
help ensure the greatest potential for success in translocating Antillean manatees to
Guadeloupe. In this report we have only presented information on the fates of manatees that
were released to the wild after either being raised in captivity or following rehabilitation due to
illness or injury. We believe that in Guadeloupe the absence of cold weather stress and
seemingly low potential threats from human factors such as boats and structural entrapment
should lower the need for interventions compared to experiences in Florida. However,
intervention will likely be required in some cases, particularly if manatees raised as orphans are
translocated. Nonetheless, this may not be an insurmountable obstacle to reintroduction,
because intensive post-release monitoring is planned at Guadeloupe no matter the source of
translocated manatees. Interventions should be anticipated if the source is currently captive
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orphans, with some individuals possibly needing multiple interventions prior to successful
adaptation. The ability to intervene may eventually increase final success rates.
Given that numbers of Antillean manatees available for translocation may be very
limited, efforts at Guadeloupe might best be started by including or even emphasizing some
long-term captives in the initial stock for translocation. If a small number of long-term captives
are used initially, they will likely provide important hands-on experience for managers at
Guadeloupe that will be critical later as more manatees are introduced over time. This will also
help identify unforeseen obstacles to success in the release environment. If long-term captive
Antillean manatees survive successfully at Guadeloupe, then plans could be made to introduce
more “high-value” individuals such as wild-captured females, particularly for genetic
management of the incipient population. Future plans also might include more creative
options, such as “borrowing” males with desirable genetic characteristics from wild populations
for in situ breeding with resident females established at Guadeloupe.
Throughout the wider Caribbean manatees are held in captive facilities. Such animals may be
ideal candidates for release and their use eliminates the need to take animals from the wild.
Photograph courtesy of John Reynolds.
The project should confront the reality that not every translocated animal will survive.
In fact, publicity and messaging associated with the project should prepare stakeholders with
information that a loss of 1-2 manatees would not be inconsistent with what has happened
elsewhere, but that the conservation benefits at the species level justify the risk. The loss of
any individual manatee is unfortunate, but another advantage of using captive animals is that
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such a loss will not have come at the disadvantage of any existing wild population (i.e., will not
have compromised manatee conservation elsewhere).
In conclusion, although we feel that additional factors must be formally evaluated in
planning for translocation of Antillean manatees to Guadeloupe, the use of long-term captive
manatees as initial sources of stock is feasible. From some perspectives it may be
advantageous. We base this conclusion on the limited amount of data available on the survival
of sirenians subsequent to release after long-term captivity. Use of long-term and captiveraised manatees as initial stock will have associated problems, but these are amenable to
management given existing plans to intensively monitor translocated individuals with telemetry
and to maintain them in “soft-release” enclosures at Guadeloupe prior to release.
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Introduction
Although a few local translocations of manatees took place during the 1960s (Sguros
1966, MacLaren 1967, Allsopp 1969), there have been no attempts to reintroduce sirenians to
historically occupied areas with the intention of establishing a new population. However,
translocation of wildlife for the purpose of reintroduction is maturing both as a science and as a
conservation tool (Ewen et al. 2012a). Although translocations and reintroductions of marine
mammals have been rare, Baker et al. (unpublished) note that well-conceived translocation
efforts with Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) offer notable benefits for
conservation and advocate greater consideration of translocations and reintroductions as a
conservation tool for other marine mammals.
Successful reintroductions require analyses of many factors of possible importance prior
to implementation. These include formal analysis of habitat suitability (food, water, potential
predators, shelter and other environmental necessities), genetic considerations, estimation of
numbers to release and impacts on source populations, potential disease risks, and planning for
subsequent monitoring and management. In this report we investigate one facet of this
planning, the potential for using captive individuals as a source for reintroduction of the
Antillean subspecies (Trichechus manatus manatus) of the West Indian manatee to formerly
occupied waters of Guadeloupe, French West Indies. We do not provide a detailed plan for a
manatee translocation, because such planning will require input from several experts from
multiple specialized fields. Considerations for developing such a reintroduction plan based on
the scientific record for selected other wildlife are outlined in a separate report (O’Shea and
Reynolds 2012).
The primary objective of this report is to summarize available information pertinent to
the release of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) and all other sirenians from captivity
to wild habitats. We provide descriptive accounts and analysis of prior releases to help gauge
the likelihood of success in using captive manatees as sources for re-establishing Antillean
manatees at Guadeloupe. None of these past attempts at releasing formerly captive sirenians
was carried out with the goal of reintroducing them to formerly occupied areas to start new
populations, and none was carried out with the intention of seriously augmenting existing
populations. Most of these releases were instead motivated by the desire to return
rehabilitated individuals to wild populations once they had healed or grown to adulthood.
Therefore this review can only provide indications of possible factors that may lead to relative
success in use of captive manatees as a source for reintroduction at Guadeloupe. Our principal
objectives in summarizing this work were to learn the fates of previously captive manatees and
dugongs after their releases, and to determine factors related to success or failure of the
releases.
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Use of “soft-release” enclosure pens near the reintroduction site is a common practice
in wildlife translocations. This was attempted once for Florida manatees, as described in the
unpublished report by Lidgard (1995). We provide a summary of pertinent findings from that
report along with our interpretation of their applicability to manatee reintroduction at
Guadeloupe. In addition, we present results of a survey of knowledgeable people and the
literature about the number of Antillean manatees currently held in captivity. We also
augmented information on locations of captive manatees in the recent book chapter by Adimey
et al. (2012) by searching the past 10 years of Sirenews for abstracts and articles pertinent to
captive sirenian releases.
Methods and Information Sources
This report is a descriptive summary of findings from the literature and unpublished
data as reported to us by others. We summarize and interpret case studies and quantitative
summaries provided by those who carried out the field work and data analysis for their own
sirenian rehabilitation and release projects. We also summarize information on manatee
rehabilitation and releases obtained from the scientific literature, newsletters, meeting
abstracts, web pages, personal communications and correspondence. We consider information
as “published” in the broadest sense as generally available to the public in writings, rather than
strictly as peer-reviewed scientific publication. We refer to information obtained by written
personal communication as “in litt.” We obtained some information on sirenians currently in
captivity and past releases by sending inquiries by e-mail to facilities or individuals known to
have experience with this topic. The inquiries included a questionnaire (Appendix I). We
intentionally made the questionnaire very simple and short to encourage a high response rate.
We planned to contact those respondents who had captive manatees with more detailed
questions after initial responses were compiled. The list of contacts that were sent the
questionnaire by e-mail appears in Appendix II. Some of these respondents also kindly directed
us to additional sources. In addition to the questionnaire, we also obtained information from
the International Species Information System (ISIS 2012) based on data about sirenians in
captivity compiled from participating facilities.
We organize our results by species of sirenian. In the case of the West Indian manatee,
we further subdivide findings by subspecies (Florida manatee [T.m. latirostris] and Antillean
manatee). The most pertinent results concern the limited number of releases of Antillean
manatees, the subspecies that presumably formed the historical manatee population at
Guadeloupe. At times we refer to total lengths (straight line measurement from tip of snout to
tip of fluke) of released manatees. Total lengths of manatees can be used as an index of
relative age based on studies of Florida manatees. As a general rule, manatees are neonates at
body lengths of 95-150 cm (some neonates up to 160 cm have been recorded, Ackerman et al.
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1995), dependent calves at ≤ 175 cm, subadults at 175-275 cm, and adults at ≥ 275 cm (Bonde
et al. 1983; O’Shea et al. 1985; Ackerman et al. 1995). These measurements and relative age
classes are based on extensive study of Florida manatees, and (by convention due to lack of
comparable data [e.g., see Marsh et al. 2011]), we have applied them to the Antillean
subspecies. Most manatees that have been held captive and released have been given names
by their keepers, usually in addition to numeric identification codes. The system of naming is
easier for people to use and remember, and in most instances we retain the use of these names
in describing case histories.
The numbers of cases of releases and monitoring of Antillean manatees is low,
precluding intensive statistical analyses. More Florida manatees have been released with
subsequent monitoring, and these data were previously analyzed by Nicole Adimey and
colleagues (e.g. Adimey et al. 2009), primarily using logistic regression to determine factors
associated with success or failure of released captive manatees. This information is currently
unpublished, but has been sufficiently analyzed that unpublished summaries can be used for
inferences without need for duplicative analyses of their original data. In limited instances we
follow the suggestions of Anderson et al. (2001) and compute our own confidence intervals (CI,
95% Confidence Interval) for proportions and then judge the degree of overlap rather than
conduct other tests of statistical hypotheses.
Findings
Below we present a compilation of findings regarding fates of sirenians following release
from captivity. We present findings by species of sirenian, beginning in each species account
with published information, followed by unpublished information and information obtained
through the questionnaires. In a subsequent section we describe the enclosure pens used for
Florida manatees in 1994 and 1995 and related results, followed by a short summary of results
of our inquiries on numbers of Antillean manatees in captivity.
A. Fates of sirenians after release from captivity
1. Dugongs (Dugong dugon).
No dugongs have ever been taken into the wild for rehabilitation and then successfully
released; there have never been any dugongs born in captivity. There only has been one release
of a dugong calf raised in captivity, and it was unsuccessful (Blanshard 2002, 2003, 2006). This
dugong (“Pig”) was released into the wild in 2002. Pig was recaptured 8 months later because
of a failure to thrive and subsequently kept in permanent captivity. He was 3.3 years old at the
time of release. There was a four-month prior “soft-release” period in a naturally enclosed
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saltwater lagoon, during which Pig gained weight and increased in length. He was outfitted with
a transmitter at his release at Moreton Bay, Queensland. The transmitter became detached in
less than three days when the tag was attacked by a shark. Pig also had freeze-brand marks and
metal tags on the fluke allowing permanent identification. Pig was recaptured in poor
condition 8 months after release about 5 km (10-15 km swimming distance) from the original
release site. He had lost 52 kg (26% of his body weight) and had skin injuries sustained from
adult male dugong tusks. He did not show appreciable weight gain until after the first month of
rehabilitation following recapture, and continued to progress but at an unsatisfactory rate for
many months afterwards. However, Pig managed to avoid predation by sharks and boat strikes
during his 8 months in Moreton Bay, and he did not disperse appreciably far from the release
site (Blanshard 2002, 2003, 2006).
Sea World (Gold Coast, Australia) took in six orphaned neonate dugongs between 1996
and 2009. Four of the orphans died, but Sea World staff successfully hand raised two that were
acquired in 1998 (Pig, release described above) and 2005 (“Wuru”). These two animals are
currently at the Sydney Aquarium. The few other dugongs held in captivity are at Toba
Aquarium in Japan (one female “Serena” held ~26 years), Underwater World in Singapore (a
female, “Gracie”, who was orphaned as a calf in 1998), and Sea World Indonesia (a female,
Diana, rescued as a small calf in 2005) (Blanshard in litt). We obtained no information that
indicated any past releases of rehabilitated dugongs by these institutions (Blanshard, in litt.).
2. West African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis).
Sikes (2010) reported the release of two West African manatees held captive for two months in
1977, but no follow-up observations were reported. To our knowledge, no West African
manatees held captive have been tracked to determine their fates after release. Lucy Keith
Diagne (in litt.) reported that she was unaware of any such cases, and that releases of West
African manatees from captivity are very rare. West African manatees are currently held
captive in several locations around the world. Based on information from Lucy Keith Diagne (in
litt.), the only captive manatee on the African continent is a male orphan currently being
rehabilitated in a lagoon enclosure in Mayumba, Gabon. Scientists/managers plan to release
him in winter 2012. West African manatees have been captured and exported for public
display to a number of Asian countries, including: Japan (Toba Aquarium, with 2-3 animals);
Taiwan (Farglory Ocean Park, currently with 1 manatee; another there recently died, and Keith
Diagne (in litt) indicates that plans are underway to acquire another). CITES export records
indicate that: (a) three other manatees were exported to Taiwan from Ivory Coast in 2004; (b)
several facilities in China received 6 manatees exported from Guinea in 2008, and 4 manatees
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from Cameroon to China in 2010; and (c) two live manatees were imported to Korea from
Cameroon in 2008).
3. Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis).
We found reports or received information documenting the release of 16 Amazonian manatees
after rehabilitation. Information from the questionnaire indicated that about 50 Amazonian
manatees are currently in captivityin Manaus, Brazil, and smaller numbers (perhaps 7) in Peru.
However not all possible sources responded with this information and no Amazonian manatees
were included in the ISIS database.
Montgomery et al. (1981) radio tracked a male Amazonian manatee brought into
captivity at about age 2-3 years and released in Brazil 20 months later. It showed normal
behavior for the three week tracking period. Lourie (2011) describes the results of a release to
the wild in 2008 of two, male captive Amazonian manatees by scientists at the Aquatic
Mammals Lab at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil. The
manatees, named “Puru” and “Anama” had been taken in as young orphans and were thirteen
and tens years old, respectively, when they were released. As a short-term transitional
measure, the two animals were held for one week in a floating mesh pen in the Rio Cuieiras
prior to their release. Each manatee underwent a health check prior to being selected for the
trial. The two manatees were released together, and each was tagged with a VHF transmitter.
They remained together only briefly and then separated. Although Anama survived and was
located by the signal from his tag for at least five months (the point at which Lourie’s account
ended), the signal from Puru’s tag became stationary approximately four months post-release;
the tag and Puru’s bones were found one month later. Scientist’s could not determine cause of
death but conjectured that predation by a jaguar could have taken place (Lourie 2011).
Vera Da Silva (in litt.) radio tracked four Amazonian manatees that had been held in
captivity about 10 years since they were taken in as small orphaned calves. They were released
in pairs in the Amazon River system in two different years. Two young adults released and
tracked by VHF telemetry in one year had mixed or uncertain results. One was found stranded
and dead in receding waters, and the other lost its transmitter but was later re-sighted up to 3
months post-release. The two released as a second pair did not progress well. Both were
rescued 6-8 weeks after release; one died with a lung infection and in poor body condition and
the other was in poor condition but survived in captivity, although it was never released again.
Sarita Kendall (in litt.) reported the release of a captive Amazonian manatee in Colombia
at an approximate age of 3 years 8 months. It had been taken into captivity as an orphan at
about 1 month old. It was tracked by VHF telemetry for 4 months before the signal was lost.
This manatee showed evidence that after release he ate well, socialized with other manatees
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and began to migrate at the same time as wild Amazonian manatees in the region. Although its
ultimate fate was unknown, there was unproven local speculation that it may have been killed
by hunters (Kendall in litt.)
Eight Amazonian manatees have been released following captive rehabilitation in Peru
(Perea Sicchar in litt.). Releases took place in April 2011 and April 2012, with monitoring by
telemetry in the first release lasting 5 months. Monitoring during the second release is ongoing.
Three of the Amazonian manatees were brought into captivity as orphaned calves (Perea
Sicchar in litt.). Apparently all of the released manatees survived during the periods of radio
tracking.
4 . Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Published reports of Florida manatee releases
The releases of two Florida manatees that had been rescued, rehabilitated, and released
in 1968 and 1971 were reported by Zeiller (1992). These individuals were not observed again
beyond the first few days after release. One of these, an adult male referred to as “Sewer Sam”,
was originally rescued near Miami but released at Crystal River in 1971 after nearly two years in
captivity (Ocala Star-Banner 1971). It was tracked by Jacques Cousteau using a sonic pinger for
a few days before the device became detached (Zeiller 1992). Individual manatees have been
monitored based on unique markings at Crystal River for decades, but Sewer Sam was never
observed again despite a unique mark on his snout (Zeiller 1992). It is likely he left the region,
perhaps attempting to return to his capture location near Miami, about 600 km away by water
(through Florida Bay). A third early case documented in the literature was that of “Henry”, a
subadult-sized (184 cm) male held in rehabilitation at Sea World of Florida for 3 months, then
released at the capture location in Indian River in July 1976 (Beusse et al. 1981; Asper and
Searles 1981). Although he was freeze-branded, his fate after release is unknown.
Four wild manatees were captured in the Banana River, Florida, and held for marking
trials between 1976 and 1978 at Marineland of Florida (Jenkins 1981; Irvine and Scott 1984)).
These consisted of an adult (278 cm) female and calf held 18 months, an adult (319 cm) male
held for one year, and another adult (300 cm) male held for 10 months. The female was
marked with a freeze brand and released near the capture site but never seen again; the larger
male was recognized alive by a freeze brand 2.7 years post-release, near the release site; the
smaller male was last seen alive 19 days after release (Irvine and Scott 1984).
Another adult male manatee, named “Beauregard”, was rescued in Mississippi in 1979
because of potential winter cold stress; he was released at Homosassa Springs (near Crystal
River) six years later in February 1985, and was the first manatee ever tracked by satellite
telemetry (Rathbun et al. 1990). Beauregard was followed for 5 months and utilized habitats
14
similar to those used by the regional manatee population. However, he was never observed
again after July 1985, despite intensive winter monitoring of individuals in the release area
(Rathbun et al. 1990).
Two manatees born in captivity at Miami Seaquarium in autumn 1982 (“Sunrise” and
“Savannah”) were released with radio transmitters in the Homosassa River in March 1986 after
spending about 1.5 years in the enclosed headwaters of the river with other captive manatees
(Dietz 1992). They were wearing VHF radio transmitters tethered to belts around the peduncle.
The two manatees were no longer located after about two weeks of tracking, and were never
sighted again. The detached belt from one manatee was recovered by J. Reid about 3 months
later with shark tooth marks (personal observation); about 7 months later the second tag was
recovered by a shrimp trawler in the Gulf of Mexico about 10 km offshore (Dietz 1992).
Deutsch et al. (2003) reported that one female Florida manatee (TBC-13) rescued as a
large calf was rehabilitated in captivity for 27 months, then released as a large subadult (264
cm). She was serendipitously captured three years later in November 1987 (she was marked
with a PIT tag when released in 1984) and radio tracked for 8 months. Her survival, migratory
movements and use of manatee aggregation areas confirmed successful adaptation to the wild.
A second manatee (TBC-41) reported by Deutsch et al. (2003) was a short-term captive male
(“Scott” described further in the enclosure pen observations described below). He was held
captive for about 4 months, released in 1994 at 274 cm total length, and was last seen alive
17.5 years later in winter 2012 at about 500 km south of the release site.
Some manatees held captive as orphans have been observed to successfully reproduce
when released to the wild. An orphaned female calf (“Georgia”) was released to the Blue Spring
area in Florida after 6 years in captivity; she exhibited the winter ranging-behavior typical of the
local wild sub-population and gave birth to a calf 13 months later (Reep and Bonde 2006).
Another rescued orphan calf (“Rachel”) was released at age seven years into the Homosassa
River, but quickly returned to the Chassahowitzka River where she had been rescued, about 30
km south by water. Managers thought the Chassahowitzka River was too shallow and captured
Rachel again and released her at Crystal River. Nonetheless she again returned to the
Chassahowitzka River, a distance by water of about 45 km to the south. Rachel was observed
regularly thereafter and has produced calves in the wild (Reep and Bonde 2006). Information
available on the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership (2012) web site indicates successful
reproduction in three other manatees raised in captivity as orphans. “Amber” was observed
with a calf about 27 months after release, “Una” was observed with a calf about 5 years after
release, and “Annie” was observed with a calf at 4.3 years post-release.
Estimates of the approximate number of Florida manatees released after rehabilitation
seem to vary with the source, period of data collection, and criteria for tabulation. However,
Reep and Bonde (2006) stated that from 1973 through 2002, 390 manatees were returned to
15
the wild without monitoring their fates (unpublished records indicate this should be revised to
a lower number, about 181; Adimey in litt.). Many of these were probably marked with freeze
brands or Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT tags)prior to release, but there is no published
or organized documentation of their fates or subsequent breeding histories. Most were
presumably short-term captives.
Tippecanoe was an orphaned manatee that was rehabilitated and released into the Myakka
River in Florida with a telemetry tag attached to the belt pictured above. Photograph courtesy
of Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Unpublished Analyses of Florida manatee releases
Adimey et al. (2009) and Adimey (2011 a,b) provided unpublished findings on release of
rehabilitated Florida manatees that were monitored closely following release. Adimey et al.
(2009) and Adimey (2011a) reported on 107 manatees (49 females, 58 males) that were tracked
after release from 1998 through 2008, including 15 captive-born individuals. The analyses were
based on logistic regression. Outcomes were categorized as successes, failures, or incompletes.
Successes were manatees that had survived at least one year post-release and exhibited
“adaptive” or typical behavior. Failures were manatees that died as a result of “maladaptive
behavior” or exhibited behavior such as remaining in one place for extended periods, not
socializing with other manatees, or failing a veterinary health exam within one year of release.
Incompletes included released manatees with unknown fates due to early detachment of
tracking devices, or individuals that were re-captured and brought back into captivity, or died
16
from causes not related to maladaption (e.g., boat-kills, red tide). Sixty-six of 107 manatee
releases were successes (62%), 6 were failures (6%), and 35 were incompletes (33%).
Multiple factors were examined in relation to likelihood of success: sex, cause of rescue,
age at release, birth in captivity, time in captivity, release location, size class at rescue, rescue
length, type of rearing, and change in size since rescue (Adimey et al. [2009], Adimey [2011
a,b]). The probability of success (captive-born excluded) was most related to the size of the
manatee when it was rescued (the larger the animal, the greater the likelihood of success), as
well as to the change in size during the rehabilitation period. Individuals that were the size of
nursing calves when rescued (104-174 cm) had the lowest likelihood of success (48-61%) and
those the size of sexually mature adults at rescue (275-338 cm) had the greatest likelihood of
success (76-83%). Length of time in captivity was not as good a predictor of success as size at
rescue. (Size at rescue can be considered as a proxy for amount of experience in the wild prior
to being taken into captivity.) There was no indication of any relationship between sex and
success rate. Captive-born manatees and manatees orphaned as calves had the lowest success
rates and required the highest number of interventions.
In a separate, short, unpublished document, Adimey (2011a) summarized tracking of
fates of released rescued manatees as analyzed by others. One analysis attributed to SandersReed et al. (2008, unpublished presentation reported by Adimey 2011a) reviewed fates of 84
manatees tagged on release through February 2005, with success defined as post-release
survival of at least 1 year. The success rate reported by Adimey (2011a) from the Sanders-Reed
analysis was 62% (52 of 84, CI 51%-72%), identical to the rate reported by Adimey et al. (2011b)
based in part on the same sample. If the incompletes were removed from consideration, the
success rate would be 92% (CI 86-98%) because only 7 were known failures .The analysis by
Sanders-Reed et al. (2008) also concluded that larger sample sizes were needed to calculate
more sophisticated annual survival rate estimates.
An analysis by Ross et al. (2009, unpublished presentation reported by Adimey 2011a)
based on methods of tracking employed by Wildlife Trust involved 35 manatees. After one year
11 of these were known alive, for a success rate of 32%; 13 (37%) were incomplete; and 11
(32%) required Intervention. Tag losses are a problem for monitoring manatees, and were
most frequent during the first 45 days post-release. All four captive-born individuals required
interventions. The success rate after intervention appeared higher than the overall success rate
(51 %, 18 manatees). Ross et al. (2009, in Adimey 2011a) noted that behavior of released
manatees that are indicators of a likely need for future intervention are decreased cavorting
and traveling, and increased “pacing”; a need for relocation of manatees to a different area was
indicated by increased resting and pacing, and decreased feeding, traveling and cavorting.
The short unpublished document by Adimey (2011c) apparently updates some of the
statistical summaries in Adimey (2011a) and Adimey et al. (2009) based on additional recent
17
cases. A total of 128 manatees were tagged, with 76 successes (59%), 45 incomplete (35%),
and 7 failures (6%). Status of most (29 or 64%) of the incompletes was unknown, but 7 died.
Seventeen captive-born manatees were released; six of (35%) were successes, 7 (41%) were
incompletes (6 of these were fate unknown), and 4 were failures (died). In addition, 45
manatees were released that were initially rescued as orphaned calves: 22 (49%) were
successes, 22 were incompletes (with 14 fate unknown, 8 monitored for < 1 year at writing),
and 1 or 2 failures. Success rates based on time in captivity were 73% for manatees held in
rehabilitation for 1 year or less (22 of 30), 54% for those held 1-5 years (38 of 71), 66% of those
held 5-10 years (10 of 15), and 45 % for manatees held for > 10 years (5 of 11). Calculation of
95% CIs for those proportions show overlap (< 1 year 54-87%; 1-5 years 41-65%; 5-10 years 3987%; > 10 years 18-75%), consistent with findings of Adimey et al.’s (2009) logistic regression
analysis.
5. Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus)
Published reports of Antillean manatee releases
The strongest efforts at rehabilitation, release and monitoring of Antillean manatees are
currently based in largely seagrass habitats in coastal Brazil. Because this work is ongoing many
of the details remain unpublished, but selected findings have appeared in a few sources. Luna
et al. (2012) noted that 25 Antillean manatees rescued as orphaned calves were released at
locations in coastal northeastern Brazil after rehabilitation. Releases took place between 1989
and February 2011, but no details on fates or radio tracking were provided (Luna et al. 2012).
Lima and Mattosinho de Carvalho Alvite (2008) reported that 13 rehabilitated, orphaned calves
were reintroduced to coastal Brazil over a 10 year period (probably an earlier subset of the
above 25 manatees). Although released animals were radio tracked, no details on fates of
released manatees were provided (see also Lima et al. 2002, 2005). Four of these former
orphans were females: one died, two lost their tags at an unspecified time after release, and
one was followed for 9 years (Lima et al. (2005). Details were reported for only one (named
“Astro”)of the nine released, orphaned males, (Lima et al. 2005). Astro was released in
December 1994, tracked, and was still alive and behaving similarly to wild manatees in July
1998. A second manatee, an orphaned female calf “Lua”, was released with Astro in December
1994 at 3.5 years of age. Lua was followed for nine years in the wild and gave birth to her first
calf in an estuary in Pernambuco at age 12. The calf failed to survive beyond a week and was
found dead about nine days after the birth (Lima et al. 2005). During this nine-year period Lua
moved 220 km along the coast, but also had three smaller, more circumscribed high-use areas
within this range. This is the only case where female Antillean manatees were followed long
enough to document reproduction after release from captive rehabilitation. Further details on
18
fates of rehabilitated manatees released at coastal Brazil were unavailable, and no responses
were received from the questionnaire we circulated.
Other anecdotal accounts of tracking previously captive Antillean manatees were
reported in SireNews, including then-ongoing radio tracking of four rehabilitated, presumed
adults in the Sinu River of Colombia beginning in February, 2009 and in progress in April 2009
(Caicedo-Herrera et al. 2009). This report was too preliminary to allow conclusions, but followup observations were obtained through the questionnaire (below and Table 1). Similarly, two
successfully rehabilitated calves were released in Southern Lagoon in Belize and were
monitored afterwards (Anonymous 2003); see below for updated details on their fates based
on the questionnaire.
Three case studies from Puerto Rico document survival or fate of rehabilitated orphan
Antillean manatee calves released in seagrass habitat (Table 1). One manatee, hand-raised
when rescued as a small calf in 1991 (“Moises”), was released in 1994 after being held in an
acclimation enclosure near shore. Interventions were required after his initial release, once for
failure to gain weight at two years post-release. Moises was also was struck by a boat, but
recovered. He was known to be alive off eastern Puerto Rico and interacting with other
manatees and with humans in April 2006 at nearly 15 years old (Puerto Rico/ Vieques Cruise
Mission Web Page 2006) and later documentation confirmed him alive off eastern Puerto Rico
at age 18 years (Mignucci 2010). A second rehabilitated orphan (“Tuque”) held captive for
about 5 years in Puerto Rico was released from a natural acclimation enclosure on the north
coast in September 2010. It survived (with one intervention) but remained mostly sedentary
near the release site through October 2011, when it was recaptured, assessed as healthy, and
moved to the south coast near Jobos Bay, a prime manatee habitat. Tuque continues to survive
on the south coast as of January 2012 (Centro de Conservación de Manatíes de Puerto Rico
2012). A third orphan (“Rafael”) was released in December 2003 after about 4 years in
rehabilitation, but he died of unknown causes in January 2005 (Mignucci 2010); note that
Rafael’s post-release survival would have qualified him as a success, based on criteria described
above. It is our understanding that each of these three manatees used areas with freshwater
for drinking after release.
Updated information obtained from questionnaires has been from sources in Mexico,
Belize, and Colombia. One manatee raised as an orphan in Mexico has been released to a semienclosed lagoon and interacts with wild manatees, but continues to seek human company and
is given supplementary food at approximately 9 years of age (B. Morales, in litt.). Three
manatees raised as orphans were released and tracked by VHF telemetry in Belize for periods
of 1-6 years and all were alive when last seen (N. Auil, in litt.; see also Galves 2012, Table 1).
Nine formerly captive Antillean manatees (held captive for 2-20 years) were released in
freshwater habitats in Colombia and tracked by VHF and satellite telemetry (D. Caicedo-Herrera
19
in litt.). In most cases tracking of manatees in Colombia was short-term due to tag detachment.
These manatees were tracked for periods of 1-6 months post-release without mortality. One
captive-raised orphan in Colombia was tracked for 6 months without intervention (Table 1).
B. Use of soft-release enclosures for Florida manatees and subsequent fates after release
This topic is of importance because of plans to construct soft-release facilities at
Guadeloupe in natural seagrass habitats. The unpublished report by Lidgard (1995) represents
the only detailed source available on use of “soft-release” enclosures for sirenians. Subsequent
to the study by Lidgard (1995) such enclosures were not used for other Florida manatee
releases (Adimey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in litt.: Lefebvre et al. 1998). Other projects
where soft-release enclosures in natural waters have been or continue to be used prior to
releases of Antillean manatees have taken place in Belize, Brazil, and Puerto Rico (see accounts
of releases above). However, detailed written descriptions of these enclosures and accounts of
manatee behavior in them are generally not available. The necessity of using such enclosures
for successful releases is sometimes unclear (e.g. Lima and Castro 1998).
The pilot, feasibility study with enclosure pens for Florida manatees (pens are described
below) was made in August 1994 (Lidgard 1995). The purpose of the feasibility study was to
assess the safety and suitability of the enclosure. In that pilot study three manatees were
placed in the enclosures and appeared to adapt well. One short-term captive male (“Scott”)
was released in 1994, but two other males (“Moose” and “Monroe” aka “Bertram”) were
brought back to the oceanarium because it was thought to be too close to the winter season for
a safe release. One of these (Moose) was also used during the Lidgard (1995) study prior to his
release in June 1995 (below). Monroe was released in the upper St. Johns River (a freshwater
system) in July 1995, apparently with no further experience in the pen. This manatee was
discovered by closer observation at release to be an individual that had spent about a year in
the wild with its mother as a nursing calf (and later “adopted” and nursed by its grandmother).
It was rescued because of infections and malnutrition at between 1 and 2 years old,
rehabilitated in captivity for three years, then released again in July 1995 as noted above. It
was taken into captivity again in January 1997 because of a seeming inability to thrive, then rereleased into the St. Johns River in March 1997 (Pulver 1997). It was known to be alive in the
St. Johns River system in 2011 at about 20 years of age (Nosca 2012).
Following the 1994 feasibility study, Lidgard (1995) made observations on Florida
manatees held in the same soft-release enclosure pens in the same shallow, seagrassdominated area of the Banana River. (The Banana River is not a freshwater river, but is part of a
large brackish-saline coastal lagoon system on the Atlantic coast of Florida.) Observations were
made by volunteers from 1 May to 24 August 1995. The objectives were to observe and
20
describe behavior of the manatees prior to release, although observations proved difficult
because of limited visibility. Eight male manatees were placed in pens in 1995. These included
four captive-born manatees, three long-term captives, and one short-term captive. The three
long-term captives were all taken into captivity as orphaned calves (Table 2).
The manatees were held in the pens for different periods, ranging from 17 to 51 days.
Conclusions are limited given the sometimes-difficult observation conditions, small numbers of
individuals, variable background histories of the subjects, variable feeding protocols, and
variable lengths of time held captive. These inconsistencies did not allow a more careful
experimental design amenable to meaningful statistical analyses. However, Lidgard (1995)
provided some observations that support suggestions that may be useful to consider for
releases of manatees at Guadeloupe (see below).
In the 1995 observations there were three enclosure pens side by side, each 225 feet
(68.6 m) x 300 feet (91.4 m). One was a “control” pen for monitoring seagrass biomass, with
no manatees released into the control enclosure. Three species of seagrasses occurred in all
three enclosures: Halodule wrightii, Syringodium filiforme, and Ruppia maritima. Observation
platforms were built between adjoining pens and freshwater was supplied by hoses linked to a
tap on shore. Thrice each day, the manatees also were fed supplementary Romaine lettuce,
their major food source during prior captive rehabilitation at oceanaria. At times the food was
presented in weighted PVC trays which sank to the bottom. This presentation was featured in
order to help “train” the manatees to find food at the bottom, where seagrasses naturally
grow. At other times manatees were fed by hand or with food presented in floating booms.
No findings regarding final vegetation conditions in the control or experimental enclosures
were reported by Lidgard (1995), but in an unpublished abstract Lefebvre et al. (1998) noted
that the manatees impact on seagrasses in the enclosures was light (unfortunately natural
salinity changes from 1994 to 1996 had caused nearly total loss of seagrass in the pens).
The most salient findings from these observations were those pertaining to bottom
feeding, time to acclimation in pens, lack of importance of prior associations among pen mates
for acclimation, and the overall conclusion that acclimation to soft-release pens can occur.
Findings regarding bottom feeding are pertinent because manatees were generally provided
floating food and were not fed on the bottom while in captivity, yet bottom-feeding is a
necessary prerequisite to survival in seagrass-dominated systems such as the Banana River and
at Guadeloupe. Key points include the following:
(1) The captive-born manatees generally did not feed on vegetation growing at the bottom of
the pens for the first week, but engaged in bottom-feeding to variable extents thereafter (the
report did not clearly indicate how regularly humans also fed the animals). All captive-born and
orphaned manatees showed some increase in feeding on vegetation at the bottom as time in
21
the pens increased, but no consistent patterns emerged, in part because caretakers resumed
supplemental feeding due to altered creatinine levels in blood of three of the manatees.
(2) One manatee (“Moose”) taken into captivity as an orphaned calf showed an increase in
feeding bout duration and in the proportion of time it spent bottom-feeding after a second
male manatee (“Hook”) was introduced to its pen at 16 days after the initial placement of
Moose. Hook was a subadult-sized short-term captive that undoubtedly was familiar with
seagrasses in the Banana River prior to being rescued there for rehabilitation. Moose was seen
feeding in about 5% or less of the observation time prior to being joined by Hook; this increased
to about 20% while together, dropping to about 10% after removal of Hook. The duration of
feeding bouts also followed this pattern. This single set of observations suggests that Moose’s
feeding on the bottom may have been enhanced by the presence of the second manatee.
(3) Time to acclimation in the pens (based on frequency of observations of various behaviors)
varied among individuals, ranging from 2 to 4 weeks.
(4) Adaptation to pen mates and the pen environment was independent of prior associations of
individuals in captivity.
(5) The final conclusion by Lidgard (1995) was that long-term captive (orphaned as calves) and
captive-born West Indian manatees can be trained to acclimate to more natural conditions in
soft-release enclosures prior to release.
A mother manatee and her dependent calf feed on submerged aquatic vegetation in Florida.
Photograph courtesy of Patrick M. Rose.
22
The ultimate fates of these manatees were mixed despite the pre-release experience
(Table 2; Adimey in litt.). Five of the ten died within 3 years of release (four within 1 year), two
were known to be long term survivors (17-21 years), and fates of three were unknown (Table
2). However, most of the factors responsible for the deaths that were observed were fairly
unique to Florida: exposure to cold winter weather or death by collisions with boats or crushing
in flood control gates. Most of the manatees that were known to have died had survived
appreciable lengths of time after release (months or years), suggesting that adaptation to
feeding on natural foods had occurred. The short-term captives seemed to have better
prospects for survival under Florida conditions. The manatee that spent its first year of life with
its mother in the St. Johns River and then was taken into captivity for three years prior to
release (with one intervention) is still alive in the wild as of 2011 at age 20 years (Monroe aka
Bertram). The short-term adult captive released in 1994 (Scott) was seen alive in 2012 at 17
years post-release about 500 km south of the release site.
C. Antillean manatees currently held in captivity
There are about 140-160 Antillean manatees currently held in captivity at facilities in
Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia (Table 3; range is estimated rather than
precise because of uncertainty in final numbers at a few facilities). This is a rough
approximation based on the combined responses from our questionnaires, other sources, and
previously published information from Adimey et al. (2012) from countries where we failed to
obtain updates.
23
Discussion
Although fewer in number, case histories of Antillean manatees raised in captivity as
orphans and released to the wild appear to be more encouraging than is the case for Florida
manatees. Only one of seven released at locations other than coastal Brazil is known to have
died, with 5 of the remaining 6 known to survive at least 1-6 years before no longer monitored
or seen, and the 6th last seen alive after 6 months. This success rate (5/7) of 71.4% (CI 31-95%)
is greater than that of Florida manatee orphans overall (22/45, Adimey 2011c) at 49% (CI 3464%), but given the small sample sizes CIs are broadly overlapping and these differences may
not be meaningful. None of the released Antillean manatees raised from orphaned calves
appear to have dispersed widely from the release site. Some Antillean manatees have retained
a tendency to seek human contact years after release from holding facilities, such as Daniel in
Mexico, and Moises in Puerto Rico, although training designed to extinguish such behavior
could usefully be employed in the case of candidates for release at Guadeloupe.
Considerations in Choice of Captive or Wild Manatees as Sources for Reintroduction
In addition to availability, the choice of using captive Antillean manatees that were
raised as orphans (or born in captivity) versus wild-captured manatees or manatees taken
captive as adults or subadults as source individuals for reintroduction will involve several
considerations (Table 4). These include the likelihood of (a) survival, (b) either dispersal away
from Guadeloupe or sedentary behavior, (c) reproducing after reintroduction, (d) the need for
intensive monitoring and possible intervention, and (e) harboring disease prior to introduction.
A companion report (O’Shea and Reynolds 2012) provides additional considerations based on
studies of other wildlife reintroductions.
Likelihood of survival. Based on experiences in Florida, manatees taken into captivity that have
prior experience in the wild have the greatest likelihood of post-release survival. This is
especially true if they were adults or subadults at the time of capture. Experience with orphans
raised in captivity, which may be the largest pool of currently captive Antillean manatees,
shows that in Florida the chances of survival to one year was 49%, whereas Florida manatees
taken into captivity as adults had a 76-83% chance of survival to one year. In either case the
proportions that can potentially fail during the first attempt at release will dictate a substantial
likelihood for one or more re-captures, interventions, and re-releases at some point after the
initial release.
However, managers should exercise some caution before applying findings from Florida
to inferences about fates of releases in Guadeloupe. Florida manatees that are released after
rehabilitation are subject to management actions (recaptures and interventions) based on
24
certain conditions unique to Florida. Recaptures may occur because of approaching winter
season with no signs of movement to warmer places, or high use of areas with dangerous
conditions such as heavy boat traffic or possible entrapment in locks, canals, or other humanmade structures. Winter conditions do not occur at Guadeloupe, and the level of boat traffic is
much lower than in Florida. In Florida, lengths of time in the wild deemed as evidence for
unsuccessful adaptation and cause for intervention may be shorter than those that could be
allowed at Guadeloupe. Thus a greater proportion of “incompletes” and interventions (Adimey
et al. 2009) may be expected from the Florida manatee release program than might occur in
Guadeloupe.
Both subspecies of manatees seem to require access to freshwater for periodic drinking
(see review in Marsh et al. 2011). This also has been observed for released orphaned manatees
at Puerto Rico and for wild Antillean manatees tracked on the Caribbean coast of Mexico and
Belize (Castelblanco-Martinez et al. in press). Maintenance of access to freshwater for
translocated manatees at Guadeloupe will be important both for survival and to reduce the
likelihood of dispersal.
Likelihood of dispersal from Guadeloupe. Failure of released wildlife to settle in the seemingly
suitable habitat chosen by managers can ruin success of attempted translocations (Osborne
and Seddon 2012). Although habitat at Guadeloupe may appear suitable, manatees are
capable of moving long distances, and individuals translocated to Guadeloupe could reach
waters in other national jurisdictions or the open sea in a matter of hours. In some parts of
Florida, seasonal movements are important factors in the survival of wild manatees. Thus the
success of Florida manatee release programs depend on seasonal movement components that
differ from those anticipated at Guadeloupe. Releases of rehabilitated manatees in Florida are
deemed successful if the manatees remain healthy and follow seasonal movement patterns and
use of winter aggregation areas similar to those of wild Florida manatees.
The same criteria do not seem applicable to manatees that are released at Guadeloupe.
First, there is no firm knowledge of what “normal” or traditional movement patterns and
seasonal use areas might have been in Guadeloupe. The best guess is that most manatees were
likely more sedentary at Guadeloupe than in many parts of Florida, perhaps on a par with
current-day Antillean manatees at Puerto Rico or Mexico (Reid 2006, Castelblanco-Martinez in
press), manatees in southwestern Florida (Stith et al. 2006), and a small proportion of year
round residents in places on the Atlantic Coast of Florida (Deutsch et al. 2003). In most cases
linear ranges in these areas are usually more localized (15-50 km; but for some Antillean
manatees on mainland coasts can be over 250 km, Castelblaco-Martinez in press). Secondly, an
immediate goal for the initial releases at Guadeloupe should be to establish a sedentary
manatee population capable of intrinsic growth, and to avoid long-distance movement patterns
25
that may be characteristic of manatees in the source population. Released wild-captured
manatees that had such movement behavior naturally entrained might be more prone to
disperse away from Guadeloupe.
Movement patterns of manatees seem to be learned by calves from mothers (Deutsch
et al 2003). This may explain why the data from released captive orphaned Antillean manatees
suggest that most will be sedentary (see above summaries for Puerto Rico, Belize, and Mexico).
There is also great individual heterogeneity in natural movement patterns of wild West Indian
manatees. Wide-ranging movements of hundreds of kilometers are known for some Florida
manatees, whereas others are relatively sedentary (Deutsch et al. 2003; see Marsh et al. 2011
for review). Adult female Antillean manatees in coastal southern Mexico and Belize can range
over 250 km one-way in their travels (Castelblanco et al. in review). Tracking data from island
populations of Antillean manatees are only available from Puerto Rico, but in comparison these
suggest that island populations may have fewer individuals prone to longer-distance travels
than mainland populations (see above). Therefore the likelihood of individual wild-captured
adults or subadults from mainland populations dispersing away from Guadeloupe will be
unknown, but could be greater than that of manatees raised in captivity as orphans. It has
been hypothesized that released captive-reared orphan manatees may “imprint” on their
release site and regularly use and return to these places (Wright et al. 1998). Nonetheless, at
least one captive-raised orphan Florida manatee has been documented to become lost at sea in
the Atlantic Ocean (Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership 2012), and a few others have gone
offshore and either been rescued or returned on their own (Adimey in litt.).
Likelihood of reproduction. We found published evidence that five released captive Florida
manatee females raised as orphans successfully reproduced after surviving release to the wild
(Reep and Bonde 2006, Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership 2012). One Antillean manatee also
reproduced, but the calf died soon after birth (Lima et al. 2005). Most tracking efforts do not
monitor released manatees long enough to determine reproductive success, although there are
probably additional anecdotal accounts of which we are unaware. Thus there is little available
evidence to judge how long the delay to successful reproduction may be in manatees
reintroduced to Guadeloupe. If they do not disperse, wild-captured or short-term captive adults
could be as likely or more likely to reproduce after release than captive-raised orphans, or they
may suffer delays in reproduction from the stress of capture and translocation.
Need for Health Monitoring and Possible Intervention. Intensive monitoring by telemetry will
be required for all manatees released at Guadeloupe, coupled with periodic veterinary health
assessments. Based on experience with Florida manatees and Antillean manatees at Puerto
Rico, interventions can be expected and may be more frequent for captive-raised orphans.
26
Source manatees held in captivity elsewhere prior to translocation to Guadeloupe should be
trained to wear telemetry assemblies (perhaps with mock transmitters) in captivity at their
point of origin to reduce additive stress while housed under pre-release conditions at
Guadeloupe. Adimey (in litt.) will provide the Parc National de la Guadeloupe with a list of
health criteria monitored by veterinarians and managers for released Florida manatees.
Need for Pre-Release Training on Seagrass as Forage. Husbandry practices with captive-raised
orphans will likely require pre-release training to use seagrass as forage. Wild-captured adult
or subadult manatees may also need to be trained to use seagrass, depending on habitat
characteristics at their points of capture (freshwater or marine). Source manatees held in
captivity elsewhere prior to translocation to Guadeloupe should be trained to forage on
bottom-growing foods in captivity at their point of origin to reduce additive stress while housed
under pre-release conditions at Guadeloupe. Presentation of bottom-growing foods and
monitoring use of seagrasses as forage in pre-release enclosures at Guadeloupe will be
necessary.
Harboring Disease. Reintroductions can fail if infectious disease outbreaks occur in the
founding group; similarly, infected translocated animals can introduce new diseases to the
receiving ecosystem (Ewen et al. 2012b). Medical histories of wild-captured and short-term
captives will be unknown. Quarantine and veterinary medical assessments should be required
for any manatee prior to translocation to Guadeloupe. The likelihood of harboring an
incubating disease organism will also be dependent on length of time the subject animal has
been isolated from wild manatees, as well as on the conditions at holding facilities. Medical
histories of manatees raised in captivity as orphaned calves are usually better known, with the
likelihood of harboring disease contracted in captivity dependent mainly on the conditions at
the source facility. Adimey (in litt.) will provide the Parc National de la Guadeloupe with a list of
health criteria monitored by veterinarians and managers prior to release of rehabilitated Florida
manatees.
Genetic Background. The genetic characteristics of the source individuals requires assessment
as some individuals that might otherwise be considered appropriate may be hybrids resulting
from interbreeding of Florida (T.m. latirostris) and Antillean manatees or of Amazonian (T.
inunguis) and Antillean manatees . The genetic background of source individuals can be readily
determined from manatees held in captivity. The genetic background of wild-captured
manatees can only be determined after they have been captured. In a companion report
(O’Shea and Reynolds 2012) we review further considerations concerning genetic issues in
wildlife reintroductions in relation to translocations of manatees to Guadeloupe.
27
Susceptibility to Predation. Predators have the potential to decimate translocated populations
of wildlife. At least one released captive-born Florida manatee documented in the published
literature (Dietz 1992) may have died from shark predation. The potential for predation or
harassment by sharks in particular should be ascertained for translocated manatees at
Guadeloupe. Presumedly, wild-captured manatees will be more likely to be wary and escape
predation than captive-raised orphans.
Interaction with Humans. Wild-captured manatees will have fewer ingrained tendencies to
seek human contact, but this behavior can be quickly acquired in captivity. Human interaction
should be intentionally minimized for all source manatees while held at site of origin and in prerelease enclosures at Guadeloupe. Seeking interactions with humans has been a problem with
captive-raised manatees in all areas. It can be advantageous for recapturing translocated
manatees for interventions or health assessments, but detrimental otherwise (encouraging
manatees to occupy areas with potentially harmful human activities, including boating and
poaching). If desirable, efforts should be made to de-condition captive orphans to human
attention both at the site of origin and in pre-release enclosures at Guadeloupe. Animal care
authorities in Brazil and Florida should be consulted on how to reduce acclimation to humans in
captive manatees.
In Fort Myers, Florida large numbers of people enjoy watching manatees that rest in warm
waters near a power plant in winter. Photograph courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory Manatee
Research Program.
28
Choosing Individual Manatees for Translocation
Considerable additional formal analyses, planning, and monitoring will be necessary to help
ensure the greatest potential for success in translocating Antillean manatees to Guadeloupe.
This work will need to quantitatively ascertain habitat factors such as the accessible food base,
freshwater, disease risk and the likelihood of predation. Future work also will need to include
developing projections for population growth, and formal plans for genetic, population, and
health monitoring. In this report we have only presented information on the fates of manatees
that were released to the wild after either being raised in captivity or following rehabilitation
due to illness or injury.
Perhaps the first question to be addressed concerns the use of wild manatees from
particular populations vs. captive manatees. Even though wild-captured, adult manatees may
have certain attributes in their favor as re-introduction candidates (e.g., bottom foraging;
predator avoidance), the effects of taking such animals from a wild population and the message
it sends to people and communities in areas from which those animals might be taken may
disqualify them from consideration. We believe that because captive manatees can be goodto-excellent candidates for successful releases, they should rank higher for consideration than
wild manatees.
Sample sizes on the fates of released, captive-raised orphan Antillean manatees are
small but encouraging, with only 1 out of 6 known dead after post-release monitoring in
seagrass habitats in Belize and Puerto Rico, and 1 tracked in freshwater in Colombia surviving 6
months without intervention. In the analysis of 107 cases from Florida (Adimey et al. 2009) the
absolute failure rate for survival after 1 year is encouraging at only 6% dead, but this is
tempered by the large number of “incomplete” cases (33 %), many of which required
intervention. We believe that in Guadeloupe the absence of cold weather stress and seemingly
low potential threats from human factors such as boats and structural entrapment should
lower the need for interventions. However, intervention will likely be required in some cases,
particularly if manatees raised as orphans are translocated. This also was seen to be the case
for two orphaned Antillean manatees released in Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, this may not be an
insurmountable obstacle to reintroduction, because intensive post-release monitoring is
planned at Guadeloupe no matter the source of translocated manatees. Interventions should
be anticipated if the source is currently captive orphans, with some individuals possibly needing
multiple interventions prior to successful adaptation. The ability to intervene may eventually
increase final success rates.
The propensity for reproduction in females after translocation is an important factor
that is unknown for West Indian manatees. However, there is documentation of female
reproduction in six cases of captive-raised orphan manatees observed after release. (Most
29
released manatees are not observed for periods longer than gestation.) It is presumed that
short-term captives or wild-captured individuals will reproduce at rates similar to those they
would have displayed in the wild, perhaps with some unknown lag from the stress of capture,
movement, and holding.
Wild-captured adults or adult manatees that have been under rehabilitation for short
periods may have the greatest chance of survival upon release at Guadeloupe. Based on
findings from Florida, currently held captives that were of larger size when brought into
captivity would provide the best prospects for survival after translocation. However, there are
major unknown factors with wild-captured or short-term captives that could put the
translocation effort at risk. As noted above, manatees in these categories may have homing
instincts or for a variety of other reasons may simply disperse from Guadeloupe. This was a
major problem in translocation attempts with sea otters (Enhydra lutris) the only other species
of marine mammal for which wild translocations have been done; for example, on the Pacific
coast of California, up to one third of the translocated sea otters were known to emigrate and
return “home” in some years (Rathbun et al. 2000). This may also have been a factor in the
“disappearance” of manatees early in the history of manatee conservation efforts in Florida
(e.g. Beauregard, and Sewer Sam noted above). If a manatee disperses from Guadeloupe the
animal may die or otherwise not contribute to establishing a new population, or it may require
an expensive and risky recapture, possibly at sea or in waters under jurisdiction of other
governments. Antillean manatee orphans reared in captivity and released in Puerto Rico, Belize,
and Colombia thus far do not seem to disperse great distances.
Given that numbers of Antillean manatees available for translocation may be very
limited, efforts at Guadeloupe might best be started by including or even emphasizing some
long-term captives in the initial stock for translocation. We think such individuals may be less
likely to disperse, will have known medical histories, and can have genetic backgrounds that are
easily determined while at original holding facilities. They also can be conditioned to eat
seagrasses on the bottom and wear transmitter assemblies at the holding facility prior to
release at soft-release pens in Guadeloupe. This will reduce the additive stresses at holding
pens at the time of introduction to the pens. If a small number of long-term captives are used
initially, they will likely provide important experience for managers at Guadeloupe that will be
critical as more manatees are introduced. This will also help identify unforeseen obstacles to
success in the release environment. As Parker et al. (2012, p. 118) stated, one approach is
“simply to start by translocating relatively few individuals dependent on species
characteristics…and then release more individuals if the responses of the initial individuals to
translocation are satisfactory. It may also be sensible to start with individuals perceived to have
lower value, for example males in many situations.” If long-term captive Antillean manatees
survive successfully at Guadeloupe, then plans could be made to introduce more “high-value”
30
individuals such as wild-captured females, particularly for genetic management of the incipient
population.
Adimey (in litt.) suggested that differences in husbandry practices may also affect the
outcomes of releases, such that orphaned manatees raised with less handling by humans,
exposure to a diversity of food types, acclimation to water of the same salinity as the release
site, and co-housing with a variety of tank mates may fare better after release. We would add
that manatees identified as source stock that are held in captivity should be subject to these
conditions by agreement prior to translocation to soft-release pens at Guadeloupe, and that
efforts to “extinguish” unwanted behavioral attraction to humans be made. One possible
exception might be to train them to approach an acoustic signal to facilitate open water
capture for health assessment or intervention. Adimey (2011 c) also concluded that high risk
categories such as captive-born individuals, orphans and juveniles should be released in areas
highly conducive to monitoring and where tag loss is minimal to allow examination and
interventions if deemed necessary.
No matter what the source of manatees destined for Guadeloupe, the project should
confront the reality that not every translocated manatee will survive. In fact, publicity and
messaging associated with the project should prepare stakeholders with information that a loss
of 1-2 manatees would not be inconsistent with what has happened elsewhere, but that the
conservation benefits at the species level justify the risk. The loss of any individual manatee is
unfortunate, but another advantage of using captive animals is that such a loss will not have
come at the disadvantage of any existing wild population (i.e., will not have compromised
manatee conservation elsewhere).
In conclusion, although we feel that additional factors must be formally evaluated in
planning for translocation of Antillean manatees to Guadeloupe, the use of long-term captive
manatees as initial sources of stock is feasible. From some perspectives it may be
advantageous. We base this conclusion on the limited amount of data available on the survival
of sirenians subsequent to release after long-term captivity. Use of long-term and captiveraised manatees as initial stock will have associated problems, but these are amenable to
management given existing plans to intensively monitor translocated individuals with telemetry
and to maintain them in “soft-release” enclosures at Guadeloupe prior to release.
Use of Soft-Release Enclosures
Housing at soft-release pens planned for Guadeloupe would help managers to observe
and condition the behavior of high-risk individuals as needed, as well as acclimate all
translocated manatees to prevailing climatic and biotic conditions at the release area.
Experience with soft release pens in Florida showed that they may be useful for training long31
term captive manatees to forage for seagrass. However, the limited experience from Florida
does not indicate any distinct advantage for long-term survival. All ten manatees placed in the
Florida pens were males, so no conclusions regarding sex effects and enclosures are possible.
However four of the ten died within one year after release, a fifth died within three years, three
had fates unknown and only two were long-term survivors. Causes of deaths, however, were
mainly Florida-specific factors.
Below are some preliminary recommendations regarding soft-release enclosure holding
of manatees, if the source of manatees for release is individuals that are held captive
elsewhere. These are recommendations to help minimize possible stress at the soft-release
introduction site. Stress experienced during capture, transport, handling and holding of wildlife
at pre-release sites is a negative factor impacting success of wildlife reintroduction projects in
general (Parker et al. 2012).
1. Train manatees that are in captivity elsewhere to eat bottom-growing food at
their present captive location prior to moving them to soft-release pens at
Guadeloupe. This will prevent additional stress that will be experienced during
the move and placement in soft-release pens at Guadeloupe.
2. Train manatees that are in captivity elsewhere to wear floating transmitter
assemblies (or dummy assemblies without instrumentation) at their present
location prior to moving to soft-release pens at Guadeloupe. This also should
reduce stress at enclosures at Guadeloupe. Furthermore, tag loss rates in
released captive manatees were highest in the first 45 days post-release.
Additional experience wearing tag assemblies in captivity might lower that rate.
3. Train manatees that are in captivity elsewhere to approach care-givers when
given a simple underwater acoustic signal. This will allow easy inspection,
capture for blood sampling and other assessment during post-release health
monitoring or intervention.
4. Co-house naïve manatees with manatees that have experience in bottomfeeding on seagrasses. This may accelerate learning how to utilize the food
available at Guadeloupe by the naïve manatees. Naïve manatees may be those
held captive for long periods, or manatees captured in fresh water habitats
without seagrasses.
Alternative Strategies for Reintroduction of Antillean manatees to Guadeloupe
There are other alternatives beyond choosing wild or captive manatees for translocation to
Guadeloupe. Manatee conservation worldwide can benefit from lessons learned from groundbreaking work at Guadeloupe, because the declining status of manatee populations may
32
someday require captive breeding as an emergency measure. Captive breeding for
reintroduction of sirenians as a conservation tool has never been attempted. In Florida captive
breeding has been discouraged because management rightly focuses on removing threats and
decreasing habitat loss (reproduction in the wild is less of a problem for manatee population
growth than is survival of adults), the population is growing, and population status has not
reached a crisis. One option for the Guadeloupe reintroduction suggested by Robert K. Bonde
(in litt.) is to use manatees of either source (wild or captive-raised) in a temporary captive
breeding program to supply stock for translocation and to manage genetic diversity. In an
alternative including temporary captive breeding a number of options might be considered. For
example, an occasional adult male might be temporarily “borrowed” from wild populations
based on genetics and held in very large enclosures with females that have been captive-raised
(or captive-raised, released at Guadeloupe, and then moved to the enclosure to breed if proven
sedentary). This approach could have several possible benefits. Adult males are more likely to
disperse away from Guadeloupe but could not do so in the enclosure. Once a male’s genetic
material is carried by offspring, the male could be returned to the original wild location with no
loss to the wild source population.
Protocols for the safe handling and medical treatment of manatees exist and will be very useful
for the Guadeloupe project. Photograph courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory Manatee
Research Program.
33
Acknowledgments. We thank Nicole Adimey for comments on a previous draft of this report,
general discussions, and for providing crucial unpublished information on monitoring Florida
manatee releases after captive rehabilitation. Bob Bonde also commented on a previous draft
and provided additional references. We also thank all of the respondents identified in Appendix
II for their input to our questionnaires.
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catching, holding, moving and releasing animals. Pages 105-137 in Ewen, J. G., D. P.
Armstrong, K. A. Parker, and P. J. Seddon (eds). Reintroduction Biology: Integrating
Science and Management. Wiley-Blackwell, UK.
Pulver, D. V. 1997. After Sea World vacation, Bertram's all better. Daytona Beach News-Journal,
March 20. http://www.sirenian.org/Bertram002.html. Accessed 13 June 2012.
Puerto Rico/Vieques Cruise Mission Web Page. 2006.
http://www.ccfhr.noaa.gov/docs/pr2006.pdf. Accessed 24 April 2012.
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Rathbun, G. B., B. B. Hatfield, and T. G. Murphey. 2000. Status of translocated sea otters at San
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Sguros, P. 1966. Use of the Florida manatee as an agent for the suppression of aquatic and
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Sikes, S.K. 2010. Manatees in West Africa: Elephants Elusive and Rare Aquatic Cousins. Mirage
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Series A-Physiology Pathology Clinical Medicine 54: 119-122.
38
Silva, F. M. O., J. E. Vergara-Parente, J. K. N. Gomes, M. N. Teixeira, F. L. N. Attademo, & J. C. R.
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39
Table 1. Survival history of individual Antillean manatees raised in captivity as orphans and monitored
after release. See text for original sources of information.
Country
Manatee
Fate
Belize
Orphan 1
Known to survive at least 1 year
Orphan 2
Known to survive at least 2 years
Orphan 3
Known to survive at least 6 years
Lua
Known to survive at least 9 years, gave birth once in
the wild.
Orphan female 1
Died after unspecified time
Orphan female 2
Lost tag after unspecified time
Orphan female 3
Lost tag after unspecified time
Astro
Known to survive at least 7.6 years.
Colombia
Orphan 1
Known to survive at least 0.5 year
Puerto Rico
Moises
Known to survive at least 15 years post-release, but
with at least 1 intervention because of nutritional
status.
Tuque
Known to survive at least 1.4 years post-release,
with one health intervention.
Rafael
Died at ca. 1.1 years post release
Brazil
40
Table 2. Basic information on backgrounds and fates of Florida manatees held in soft-release
pens in 1994 and 1995. All were males. Sources: Lidgard (1995), Deutsch et al. (2003), and N.
Adimey (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in litt.).
Male
Manatee
Status in Captivity
Time in
captivity
(yrs)
Fate
Scott
Short-term captive. Total
body length 274 cm.
0.4
Seen alive in 2012 at 17.5 years postrelease.
Monroe aka
Bertram
Taken in at about 1 year of 3
age, held 3 years, released
with one intervention
Seen alive in 2012 at age 21 years.
Moose
4
Killed by boat at about 1 year postrelease.
~ 0.3
Not seen since release in 1995.
Foster
Long-term captive raised
as orphan. Total body
length 141 cm at rescue.
Short-term captive. Total
body length 266 cm at
rescue.
Captive born
2.4 (lifelong)
Intervention due to cold stress 1 year
post-release, released again after 2
years rehabilitation, not seen since
second release.
Harvey
Captive born
4.9 (lifelong)
Indy
Captive born
2.2 (lifelong)
Intervention due to cold stress 1 year
post-release, died in rehabilitation.
Killed by boat 3 months after release.
Dakota
Long-term captive. Total
body length 160 cm at
rescue, captured with
mother.
Captive born
2.5
Killed in flood control gate ca. 3 years
post-release.
2.6 (lifelong)
Long-term captive raised
as orphan. Total body
length 152 cm at rescue.
4.6 yrs
Intervention due to cold stress ca. 4
years post-release, died in
rehabilitation.
Released in 1997, not seen since
release.
Hook
Doc
Newbob
41
Table 3. Approximate numbers of Antillean manatees held in captivity in 2012 (Institutions in the U.S. and Puerto Rico not included). Question
marks (?) are used where we could not verify number with more recent data.
Country
Belize
Institution
Belize Manatee
Rehabilitation Centre
Source
Summary of Details
N captives
Questionnaire.
Two manatees currently at the Centre
2
Brazil
Centro Mamíferos
Aquáticos, IBAMA,
Pernambuco
Adimey et al 2012; Silva et al. 2007, 2009;
Lima and Mattosinho de Carvalho Alvite
2008; Lima et al. 2002.
About 17 as of 2009. Details not
available.
17 ?
Colombia
Omacha Foundation,
Questionnaire.
Numbers currently held need
confirmation. Three in July 2009 as
reported by Adimey et al. 2012
1 male, 1 female
3?
Adimey et al. 2012.
33 semi-captive in an enclosed lake as
of July 2009
33 ?
Córdoba
Zoológico de Barranquilla,
Atlántico
Fundación Ecológica
Amigos del Manatí,
Bolivar
Parque de Salamanca,
Magdalena
ISIS 2012
Adimey et al. 2012.
1 captive as of July 2009. Details not
available.
1
Cuba
Unknown
Questionnaire.
About 5 manatees suspected to still
be at Laguna del Tesoro near Zapata
swamp, unclear if this is semi-captive
or wild
5?
Denmark
Denmark
Zoo of Odense
ISIS 2012
3 males, 4 females
Randers Aquarium
ISIS 2012
1 male, 1 female
7
2
France
Beauval
ZooParc, Saint-Aignan
Anonymous 2004a;
http://www.zoobeauval.com/
animaux/mammiferes_aquatiques/lamantin/
accessed 19 July 2012
Captive twins, one adult female, two
adult males..
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
42
2
5
Germany
Tierpark Berlin
ISIS 2012
2 males, 3 females
5
Germany
Guyana
Nurnberg Aquarium
ISIS 2012
2 m1les, 1 female
Guyana Zoological Park
Adimey et al. 2012.
13 captives as of July 2009.
3
13 ?
ISIS 2012
Questionnaire.
Two males
Three adult female manatees “semicaptive” at Alligator Hole River,
sandbar partially blocking access to
the sea.
2
3
Georgetown
Italy
Jamaica
Genoa Aquarium
Japan
Churaumi
Aquarium in Motobu
Memorial Park, Okinawa
Anonymous 2004b.
Three as of April 2004
3?
Mexico
Acuario de Veracruz
Adimey et al 2012. Okrucky 2009; Vanoye
Lara 2007.
6 captives as of July 2009.
6
Mexico
El Colegio de la
Frontera Sur, Chetumal
Questionnaire.
One semi-captive manatee raised as
an orphan since September 2003.
Daniel is free to go and interacts with
other manatees but returns to his
semi-captive pool to be
supplementally fed. He seeks out
human interaction.
1
Mexico
Dolphin Discovery (3
locations on Caribbean
coast
Questionnaire.
Ten captive manatees. Four are
captive-born (David Gonzalez in litt.).
10
Mexico
Xcaret Park, Quintana Roo
Adimey et al 2012;
http://www.excaret.com/manatee-lagoon
Accessed 20 July 2012.
2 captives as of July 2012
2
Mexico
Universidad Juárez
Autónoma de Tabasco -
Questionnaire.
One rehabilitated orphan female, now 1
about 1 year old. Release planned.
Ecosystems
Management Branch,
National Environment
and Planning Agency,
Kingston, Jamaica
43
División Académica de
Ciencias Biológicas
Mexico
Yumka, Villahermosa,
Tabasco
Questionnaire.
One female, two males, retained in
captivity
3
Mexico
Centro de Convivencia
Infantil, Jonuta, Tabasco
Questionnaire.
4
Mexico
Los Aluxes, Palenque
Chiapas
Questionnaire.
Two females, one male, one sex
unreported, retained in captivity.
Two males, retained in captivity
Mexico
Caleta de Xel-Há
Adimey et al. 2012.
3 captives as of July 2009
3?
Netherlands
Singapore
Arnhem Zoo
2 males, 1 female
Singapore Zoo
ISIS 2012
ISIS 2012
5 males, 4 females
3
9
Spain
Faunia Zoo, Madrid
ISIS 2012
2 males, 1 female
3
Venezuela
Parque Zoológico
Metropolitano del Zulia
in Maracaibo
Questionnaire.
One young male in captivity.
1
Venezuela
Parque Zoológico y
Botánico Bararida in
Barquisimeto
Questionnaire.
Currently hold an adult male, adult
female, one subadult and one calf
from this pair.
4
44
2
Table 4. Summary of selected factors that must be considered in choosing source individuals for a translocated population of Antillean
manatees at Guadeloupe.
Consideration
Short-term captives as adults or subadults,
wild captures
Orphans or captive-born
Dispersal from
Guadeloupe
May attempt to return to capture region. May be
prone to travel greater distances over time. Monitoring
required. Some sex bias with adult males traveling
greater distances, but wild female Antillean manatees
can range over 250 km in travels.
Likely will remain at region of release. This has been seen in
case histories from Belize, Puerto Rico, and Colombia.
Reproduction (females)
Likely, but perhaps with stress-related delays due to
capture and translocation.
Likely but poorly studied. Five released Florida manatee
females raised as orphans known to successfully reproduce, but
few followed long enough to determine.
Need for Health
Monitoring and Possible
Intervention
Monitoring required, health intervention less likely.
Monitoring required, health intervention more likely.
Need for pre-release
training on seagrass as
forage
Dependent on habitat where captured.
Needed.
Harboring disease
Medical histories unknown. Quarantine required.
Likelihood of harboring disease dependent on length of
time isolated from wild manatees, conditions at
holding facilities. Veterinary monitoring and
assessment needed.
Medical histories usually well known. Likelihood of harboring
disease contracted in captivity dependent on conditions at
source facility. Veterinary monitoring and assessment needed.
Genetic background
Unknown for wild- captured until after capture.
Obtainable from existing stock of short-term captives.
Easily obtained from existing captive stock.
Susceptibility to predation
Unknown, but presumed lower than captive-raised.
Unknown, but presumed higher than wild-captured.
Interaction with humans
Human-seeking behavior less ingrained in wildcaptured, but can be quickly learned in captivity.
Human interaction should be intentionally minimized
while held at site of origin and in pre-release
enclosures at Guadeloupe.
This has been a problem with captive-raised manatees. It can
be advantageous for recapturing for interventions or health
assessments, but detrimental otherwise. If desirable, efforts
should be made to de-condition captive orphans at the site of
origin and in pre-release enclosures at Guadeloupe.
45
Appendix I. Letters with simple questionnaire used to survey institution regarding captive
sirenians and their releases.
English
Tom O’Shea and I have a few questions about your experience with sirenians in captivity. The
purpose of these questions is to help assess the feasibility of reintroducing Antillean manatees to
Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles.
1. Has your organization released manatees into the wild after rehabilitation in captivity? If so,
how many?
2. Were the released manatees monitored by telemetry?
3. Do you know the fate of the released manatees? How much time elapsed until the last
sighting, death, or recapture (if needed) in each case?
4. Do you currently have manatees in captivity?
5. Have you ever raised baby manatees that lost their mothers? If so, how many?
6. Have you ever released captive-reared calves back into the wild? Do you
know if they survived, and if so, based on what evidence?
Thank you for your time. We may contact you again if we have additional questions.
With best regards,
John Reynolds
46
Spanish
Tom O’Shea y yo tenemos algunas preguntas acerca de su experiencia con sirenios marinos en
cautiverio. El propósito de estas preguntas es ayudar a evaluar la viabilidad de reintroducir los manatís
Antillanos a Guadalupe en las Antillas Menores.
1. ¿Ha soltado o liberado su organización manatís en la naturaleza después de su rehabilitación en
cautiverio? ¿Si ese es el caso, a cuantos?
2. ¿Fueron vigilados los manatís soltados o liberados por telemetría?
3. ¿Conoce el destino de los manatís soltados o liberados? ¿Cuánto tiempo paso hasta el ultimo
avistamiento, la muerte, o la recuperación (si lo fuese necesario) en cada caso?
4. ¿Actualmente tiene usted manatís en cautiverio?
5. ¿Ha criado usted alguna vez a bebes manatís que perdieron a sus madres? ¿Si ese es el caso, a
cuantos?
6. ¿Alguna vez ha soltado o liberado los terneros criados en cautividad de regreso a la naturaleza?
¿Sabe si sobrevivieron, y si ese es el caso en que evidencia se basa?
Gracias por su tiempo. Tal vez lo contactemos de nuevo si tenemos preguntas adicionales.
Con Saludos,
John Reynolds
47
Appendix II. List of respondents to whom the questionnaire in Appendix I was provided.
Contact and affiliation
e-mail address
Response
Anmari Alvarez Aleman,
Centro de Investigaciones
Marinas, Universidad de
Habana, Cuba
[email protected]
No manatees in captivity, no
experiences with releases.
Cuban National Aquarium had
past experience with four
captives, none currently. Anmari
thinks about 5 manatees occur
at Laguna del Tesoro near
Zapata Swamp. Unclear if they
are semi-captive or wild. (Cuba,
Antillean manatees)
Nicole Auil, Belize Manatee
Rehabilitation Centre
[email protected]
Monitors releases, has
manatees in captivity (Belize,
Antillean manatees).
Wendy Blanshard, Sea World
(Australia)
[email protected]
Gave details on released dugong
in Queensland.
Calvin R. Bernard, University
of Guyana
[email protected]
No response. (Guyana, Antillean
manatees).
Ernesto O. Boede, Fundacion
Nacionales de Parques
Zooloogicos y Acuarios,
Venezuela
[email protected]
Gave details on 5 manatees in
captivity at two institutions. No
releases monitored. See also
Boede and Mujica 1995.
(Venezuela, Antillean
manatees).
Jaime Bolanos, Sociodad
Ecologica Venezolana Vida
Marina (Sea Vida), Venezuela
[email protected]
Does not manage captives, but
provided additional contacts
(Ernesto Boede). (Venezuela,
Antillean manatees).
Idelisa Bonnelly, Dominican
Republic, Fundacion
Dominicana de Estudios
Marinos
Dalila Caicedo-Herrera
Omacha Foundation
idelisa ([email protected]);
Provided history of past
captives, none currently captive.
(Dominican Republic, Antillean
manatees).
Monitors released rehabilitated
Antillean manatees by
telemetry, unclear on number in
captivity. (Colombia, Antillean
manatees).
[email protected]
48
Nataly Castelblanco-Martinez
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur ,
Chetumal, Mexico
[email protected]
Does not manage captives, but
provided additional contacts
(Mexico, South America).
Gustavo Cruz, Museo de
Historia Nacional, Universidad
Autonoma de Honduras,
Honduras
[email protected]
No captive manatees
(Honduras, Antillean manatees).
Lucy Keith Diagne, Sea to
Shore Alliance
[email protected]
Provided information about
West African manatees.
Haydee Dominguez,
Dominican Republic, currently
at Duke University
Andrea Donaldson,
Ecosystems Management
Branch, National Environment
and Planning Agency,
Kingston, Jamaica
[email protected]
No captive manatees
(Dominican Republic, Antillean
manatees).
Three semi-captive manatees at
Alligator Hole River, no
rehabilitated manatee releases
(Jamaica, Antillean manatees).
Alexander Gomez,
Instituto Internacional en
Conservacion y Manejo de
Vida Silvestre, Costa Rica
Daniel González Socoloske,
Duke University
[email protected]
No captive manatees (Costa
Rica, Antillean manatees).
[email protected]
Does not manage captives, but
provided additional contacts
(Honduras, Antillean manatees).
Maria Elena Ibarra Martin,
Centro de Investigaciones
Marinas, Universidad de la
Habana, Cuba
[email protected]
No response. (Cuba, Antillean
manatees)
Ignacio Jimenez Perez,
The Conservation Land Trust
Argentina
Sarita Kendall, The Rufford
Small Grants Foundation,
Centro de Interpretacion
Natutama, Colombian Amazon
[email protected]
No captive manatees (Costa
Rica, Antillean manatees).
[email protected]
One rehabilitated Amazonian
manatee released. No current
captives. (Columbia, Amazonian
manatees).
Jalaudin A. Khan,
[email protected]
No response. (Trinidad and
[email protected]
49
Environmental Natural
Resources and
Communication Consultant,
Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago
Tobago, Antillean manatees).
Regis Lima, IBAMA Aquatic
Mammal Center, Brazil
Donna Kwan, Convention on
Migratory Specie
[email protected]
Adda G. Manzanilla Fuentes,
Venezuela, Universidad
Pedagogica Experimental
Libertador
Miriam Marmontel, Mamirua
Reserve, Brazilian Amazon
Helene Marsh, James Cook
University, Townsville
[email protected]
No response. (Venezuela,
Antillean manatees)
[email protected]
No response. (Brazil, Amazonian
manatees).
Provided information and
contacts about dugongs.
Antonio A. MignucciGiannoni,, Red Caribena de
Varamientos, Caribbean
Stranding Network, Puerto
Rico
[email protected]
Prvided information about
captive Antillean, Florida, and
West African manatees. See
also Anonymous 2011. (Puerto
Rico, U.S.A., Antillean
manatees)
Ruby Montoya-Ospina,
Marnetec, Maricultura
Negocios y Tecnologia, S.L,
Brazil
[email protected]
No response. (Colombia,
Antillean manatees).
Benjamin Morales, El Colegio
de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal,
Mexico
[email protected]
Has one captive. (Mexico,
Antillean manatees).
Roberto Sanchez Okrucky,
Dolphin Discovery, Mexico
[email protected]
David Olivera León,
Universidad Juárez Autónoma
de Tabasco, Mexico
[email protected]
Re-directed to Saúl Soto
Mendoza (Mexico, Antillean
manatees)
Yes. Has one captive. (Mexico,
Antillean manatees).
Alejandro Ortega-Argueta,
Mexico, currently at School of
Natural and Rural Systems
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
50
No response. (Brazil, Antillean
manatees).
Provided contacts for
information about dugongs.
No response. (Mexico, Antillean
manatees).
Management, The University
of Queensland
Christine O'Sullivan, CEP-UNEP
CAR/RCU
[email protected]
Referred to Andrea Donaldson.
(Jamaica, Antillean manatees)
Carlos Marcial Perea Sicchar,
ACOBIA-DWAZOO Director de
Acuiculturaen Direccion
Regional de la Produccion de
Loreto, Gobierno Regional de
Loreto, Peru
Grisel Rodriguez
Departamento de Recursos
Naturales y Ambienta, Puerto
Rico
[email protected]
Has Amazonian manatees in
captivity, released rehabilitated
Amazonian manatees, some
with monitoring. (Peru,
Amazonian manatees)
[email protected]
No response. (Puerto Rico,
U.S.A., Antillean manatees)
Kherson E. Ruiz, Asociacion de
Amigos y Vecinos de la Costa y
la Naturaleza, Panama
[email protected]
No response. (Panama,
Antillean manatees).
Benoit de Thoisy, Association
Kwata NGO, French Guiana
[email protected]
No response, but apparently no
captives or post-release
monitoring (see Castelblanco
Martinez 2012, de Thoisy et al.
2003). (French Guiana, Antillean
manatees)
Ester Quintana-Rizzo, Mote
Marine Laboratory, Sarasota,
Florida
[email protected]
No captives or releases
(Guatemala).
Caryn Self-Sullivan, Sirenian
International (for Belize)
Vera da Silva, INPA, Manaus,
Brazil
[email protected]
Does not manage captives.
(Belize, Antillean manatees)
About 50 Amazonian manatees
currently in captivity. Four
releases radio tracked (Brazil,
Amazonian manatees).
Saúl Soto Mendoza, Dolphin
Discovery, Mexico
investigací[email protected]
[email protected]
51
Has ten captive manatees, no
releases. (Mexico, Antillean
manatees)