GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept. 27, 2014 – A recently concluded assessment has found that manatees at an enclosed area in Guyana are demonstrating increased reproductive activity, with five very young calves being recorded and breeding behaviour being observed during the assessment.
The assessment team was headed by Dr. Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez from the US-based Oceanic Society and the Co-chair for the IUCN South American Sirenian (Manatee) Specialist Group, and included Mr. Boris Lerebours, a manatee breeding and reintroduction expert from the National Parks of Guadeloupe.
The Team also noted that Guyana is the only country in the world that has maintained a captive population of reproducing manatees for over 100 years.
The Team conducted initial assessments of the populations and their enclosures at the National Park and Botanical Gardens, using sonar and visual observations. Water samples were also collected and a series of tests are currently being carried out.
Descended from animals originally brought into captivity in the late 1800s, the collection of West Indian Manatees at the Park and Gardens has long been part of Guyana’s natural and cultural landscape.
