TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A member of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute is currently in Cuba to aid with care of a critically injured baby manatee.
Dr. Anmari Alvarez-Alemán, the institute’s Caribbean research and conservation director, traveled to Santiago on Saturday to provide emergency care to the manatee.
Two fisherman found the orphaned female calf in critical condition in Marea del Portillo Bay on March 7, after what experts believe to be a harpoon strike. The fishermen, Julio and Victor, rallied their community to gather cow milk and other supplies to sustain the calf until the Aquarium of Santiago de Cuba retrieved her.
Dr. Alvarez-Alemán said the fisherman mentioned they had see the calf swimming in the bay before, but they didn’t bother her, thinking she was okay. Last Thursday, the men realized the calf was not looking well.
“She was looking very thin and she was very slow. So they decided to move her close to the community. They also realized she had a wound in the head of what looks like to be a harpoon wound,” Dr. Alvarez-Alemán said.
She said it is difficult to be certain the wound is from a harpoon.
“It looks like a sharp object was used to hit her in the head. And unfortunately, this type of situation is common in the Caribbean for [the species.] Poaching and illegal hunting is still happening in some areas,” she said.
The fishermen began feeding the emaciated manatee cow’s milk from what they were able to gather from the community.
Dr. Alvarez-Alemán began communicating with another expert within the stranding network the CMA Research Institute works with, and that veterinarian recommended changing the formula to goat’s milk.
“And also to add some sort of electrolyte, which at that point, it was going to be very hard to get those there, but they recommended to use coconut water, which is filled with natural electrolytes,” she said.
Last week, the calf was taken to the aquarium, where she remains right now.
“This little one was probably like two or three months, definitely no more than six months. She’s really tiny. She’s only 60 pounds and 130 centimeters. So she was definitely dependent on her mom,” Dr. Alvarez-Alemán said.
The manatee was affectionally named “Julia Victoria,” in honor of the good Samaritans who saved her.
Dr. Alvarez-Alemán began her journey to Cuba on Saturday, flying in to Havana and driving by car 10 hours to Santiago to help care for the manatee. She left with supplies from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, including formula and antibiotics.
She said saving a manatee calf is very difficult, as their situation can change very fast when in critical condition.
“The opinion of some of the vets that I have contact [with] – from SeaWorld, from Puerto Rico – is that the condition is critical and the prognosis is guarded,” she told 8 On Your Side on Friday before leaving for Cuba.
Dr. Alvarez-Alemán explained there is little research on the West Indian manatee in Cuba. She said research is not as abundant as it is in Florida, and that’s why researchers from the CMA Institute are working to understand more about those manatee populations.
The Center for Marina Rescue at the University of Havana, where she previously worked, has a research program to understand the biology and promote the conservation of manatees.
Dr. Alvarez-Alemán is currently in Cuba until Wednesday, she told 8 On Your Side. We will have updates on the manatee calf as we received them.
