Manatees or sea cows - they are the aquatic darlings of the conservation world and it just so happens that Belize has been traditionally known as the last remaining paradise for the West Indian specie. But a series of manatee deaths, both natural and man-made over recent years, have caused these gentle herbivores to become more endangered than ever.
It’s been a while since we’ve had the displeasure of reporting the discovery of dead manatees on Belize’s coastline; nevertheless, these 400-800lb. creatures have not have a good day for some time with an increase in deaths from propellers of fast moving vessels that clip them while grazing on the sea grass beds in near shore estuaries or when sleeping near the surface.
The latest discovery however was a tad different when representatives from the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) and the Protected Area Conservation Trust (PACT) spotted the scant remains of a female carcass sometime last week while on a site visit to “Garobo Point” – an area south of Deep river.
The meat was literally stripped from the bone, which fetched a high price in Guatemala and Honduras where they are considered delicacies. This certainly means that the poachers have not given up their habit – a practice that was not in existence for the last seven years.
During a telephone interview, George Emmanuel, TIDE’s Communication Coordinator say that preliminary investigations have concluded that the manatee was slaughtered during the second week in September while Belizeans were under severe threat of Hurricane Felix. “The offenders risked their lives to seize on this opportunity to hunt illegally. While we were at home boarding and caring for our families they were out at sea hunting. We will pursue every lead to find these offenders and continue to work to prevent any further slaughters to these mammals.”
During the approach of both Hurricanes Dean and Felix, the National Advisory Committee warned us against staying out at sea due to the life threatening dangers posed by the powerful storms. During that time, TIDE did not carry out its normal twice-daily patrols of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve (P.H.M.R.), making it easy for the killers.
Emmanuel is also almost certain that the perpetrators are not Belizeans, but rather foreigners from a neighbouring country since “unlike Guatemalans, Belizeans do not eat manatee meat.”
This and other deaths have proven to us that we must increase our efforts to work along with our neighbouring countries, our local partners as well as the Government.
Manatees in Belize are listed as endangered under Belize’s Wildlife Protection Act of 1981 ever since fishermen would set up camp for days or even weeks in Belize to capture and kill those graceful creatures.
Protected manatee habitat areas include Bacalar Chico, Southern Lagoon, the Bay of Honduras and most recently, Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary – just a 40 minute speedboat ride from the city. It’s home for a relatively large population of them, so chances of seeing one is almost 100%.
Manatees are usually found feeding or playing in a deep murky hole behind the island or inside the creeks leading into the mangrove. Current population at this spot is believed to be about 18 adults and calves.
