Tortuguero
Tortuguero's Manatees
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Jul 22, 2006, 14:38

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Tortuguero's Manatees

Tortuguero's fragile manatee population is endangered and was thought to be extinct until a population was located in remote lagoons within Tortuguero. Traditionally they have been hunted for their flesh, reputedly tender and delicious, and for their very tough hides, but the greatest threat of late has been chemicals and sediments washing into the waterways from banana plantations. Ironically, ecotourism is taking a toll, with increasing boat traffic.

Manatees have moved west toward more remote lagoons seeking quiet places to mate and are rarely seen. It is thought that perhaps about 100 manatees inhabit the lagoons of Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado. Alas, Dr. Bernie Nietschmann of the University of California, Berkeley, who ran a research program to count and study the manatees, died and his research program has since foundered.

The Manatee, Crocodile, and Caiman Conservation Research Project, tel./fax 226-0986, accepts donations.

Other good resources include the Save the Manatee Club, 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751, tel. 407/ 539-0990 or 800/432-5646, email: membership@savethemanatee.org, a not-for-profit member-based organization that promotes manatee education/awareness; and the Manatee Survival Foundation, P.O. Box 50005, Lighthouse Point, FL 33074, 954/943-4391, which promotes manatee awareness and collects sighting information for regulatory agencies.

Tortuguero National Park  >>

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