Study

Marine mammal captivity in the northeastern Caribbean, with notes on the rehabilitation of stranded whales, dolphins and manatees

  • Published source details Mignucci-Giannoni A.A. (1998) Marine mammal captivity in the northeastern Caribbean, with notes on the rehabilitation of stranded whales, dolphins and manatees. Caribbean Journal of Science, 34, 191-203.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Hand-rear orphaned or abandoned marine and freshwater mammal young

Action Link
Marine and Freshwater Mammal Conservation
  1. Hand-rear orphaned or abandoned marine and freshwater mammal young

    A study in 1991–1998 of a pelagic area in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico, USA (Mignucci-Giannoni 1998) found that one of three West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus calves reared in captivity was released back into the wild and survived for at least four years with supplemental feeding. One stranded male manatee calf was released back into the wild after 27 months in captivity. The calf survived for at least four years in the wild and was observed feeding, visiting freshwater sites and interacting with wild manatees. Supplemental food was periodically provided from two years after release when the calf was observed to be underweight. The other two calves (one female, one male) died in captivity (after two weeks and 20 months respectively). The three calves (102–122 cm in length) were found stranded at coastal sites in 1991, 1993 and 1995. They were taken to rehabilitation facilities, housed in saltwater pools and given medical treatment. The surviving calf was fitted with a satellite tag and released in a protected bay used by wild manatees after a six-month period of adaptation in an enclosed sea-pen. The calf was tracked and sighted for four years after release in 1994–1998.

    (Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)

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