Protected under the WildLife Protection Act

WEST INDIAN MANATEE 

Class: Mammalia

Introduction

Jamaica's manatee (sea cow) is called the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) and can be found through out the wider Caribbean range.

In Jamaica the manatee can be found in coastal waters around St. Thomas (e.g. Yallahs, Port Morant), St. Catherine (e.g. Old Harbour, Hellshire), Clarendon e.g. (Farquhar's Beach, Jackson's Bay), Manchester (e.g. Alligator Pond, Gut River), St. Elizabeth (e.g. Black River, Parrotee), Westmoreland (e.g. St. Mary's Wharf), Hanover (e.g. Bloody Bay), St. Mary (e.g. Oracabessa, St. Margarets Bay) and Trelawny (e.g. Half Moon Bay).

Description of Animal

It is a large, grey-brown, aquatic mammal, seal-like in shape. Its body tapers to a flat paddle shaped tail and there are two small forelimbs on the upper body. The head and face are wrinkled and the snout has stiff whiskers. No hair is present on the animals body.

Biology of the Animal

Adults exceed length of 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) and weigh over 1,600 kilograms (3,500 pounds). At birth, calves measure 1.2 to 1.4 meters (3.5 to 4 feet) in length and weigh about 30 kilograms (66 pounds). The sex of the animal is determined by the location of the urinary and reproductive openings. For females it is located just in front of the anus and in males further forward just behind the navel.

They are herbivorous feeding only on aquatic plants. The molars of the manatee are continuously being replaced due to their herbivorous diet. They have small eyes and can distinguish between different size objects, colours and patterns.

Manatees spend most of their time feeding (6 to 8 hours a day) and resting (2 to 12 hours a day) and can remain submerged and feed, surfacing every 3 to 5 minutes to breath.

Manatees do not form permanent pair bonds. Generally females give birth to one calf in a breeding season but two are rare. There is no set breeding season but intervals between births range from three to five years. The gestation period for manatees is approximately 13 months. Mothers nurse their young for a long period and a calf may remain dependent on its mother for up to two years.

A manatee reaches sexual maturity between 6 and 10 years and can live up to 60 years.

Habitat

Jamaica's manatees are found mostly along the south coast. They prefer shallow coastal areas such as estuaries, coves and bays where aquatic vegetation is abundant and the water is relatively undisturbed. Most often they can be seen near the mouth of coastal rivers drinking freshwater.

Threats and Socio-economic Factors affecting Manatees

Planned or accidental entanglement in gill nets

Although manatees are protected under the Wild Life Protection Act, the major cause of manatee mortality is probably from planned or accidental entanglement in gill nets by fishermen. Female and juvenile manatees are more susceptible to capture by beach seining as female manatees and their calves spend more time near the shore where food and freshwater supplies are more abundant. The number of manatees being reported killed seems to have decreased. This could be due to fishermen being more aware of the presence of manatees, persons are not reporting the killing of manatees or the numbers of manatees being very low.

Destruction of coastal mangroves and seagrass beds

Coastal mangroves are mainly destroyed for housing and residential development, agriculture and free zones. Coastal areas containing seagrass have been affected by pollution, siltation, industrial discharges, thermal effluent and dredging operations. Manatees depend on seagrasses for food therefore the loss of this floral beds have adversely affected their survival.

Estimated Populations and their Geographic Range

It is presumed that there's less than 100 manatees left in Jamaica's waters. The total manatees sighted in annual surveys are been 13 (between May 1981 and February 1983), 2 adults (March to June, 1991) and 8 (April 1993). The result from a survey conducted in 1998 is expected in 1999.

Conservation Programme

In 1980, the Natural Resources Conservation Department (NRCD) initiated a project "Operation Sea Cow" funded by the Organisation of American States (OAS). The objective of Operation Sea Cow was to manage the remaining population of manatees in Jamaica and to assess the possibilities of holding a small captive population for display, education and breeding. The output of the project was the introduction of four manatees into semi-captive environment of the Alligator Hole River in the parish of Clarendon. Construction of a public display area at the northern portion of Alligator Hole River and a Study detailing the carrying capacity of the river at the University of Florida, (Hurst, 1987).

By 1984, funding for "Operation Sea Cow" ceased, and it was not until 1987 that the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Government of Jamaica signed an agreement for the preparation of a management plan for the West Indian Manatee in Jamaica. The project had an overall island focus as well as a specific localized focus on manatees impounded in the Alligator Hole River.

The specific objectives for the project are as follows:

• To carry out a public education programme following on the need to protect this endangered species.
• To estimate the current population size of the manatees in Jamaica.
• To determine the carrying capacity of the river.
• To determine the sexes of the manatees inhabiting the Alligator Hole River.
• To prepare and implement a Management Plan for Jamaica.

Public Awareness Programmes and Technical Publications relevant to Species Conservation

There is an urgent need for a public education programme on "Manatee Conservation" as the basic cause of manatee mortality is caused form ignorance, fear, poverty, and greed on the part of the fishermen and the consumers.

Three basic education texts were designed and distributed during the public education programme funded by UNEP and GOJ. The educational materials were manatee pamphlets, posters and automobile stickers. The posters were erected on buildings at the fishing beaches visited, and left with school teachers, the pamphlets given to students, fishermen and fish vendors and the manatee stickers to environmentalist with automobile.

The target audience were grade of students at primary schools and fourth forms at High Schools, fishermen and teachers. The total number of schools visited were 19, 10 all age schools, 5 High Schools and 4 secondary. The programme was conducted mainly in the southern parishes where the largest number of manatees are seen. The schools selected were those in close proximity to fishing beaches in the manatee home range. Selection of fishing beaches was done on the basis of the existence of a fishing co-operative.

The NRCA with the assistance of IRIE has produce posters and sighting cards. Information on the present status of Jamaica's manatee population is not clear and as such the sighting cards were developed to be distributed to community groups in areas known to have manatees.

The NRCA in association with the Jamaica Nahral History Society, Save the Manatee Club (USA) and the Environmental Foundatoin will be embarking on a public awareness campaign