Diario Libre reports that Juanita has made it back to Santo Domingo. She was one of three adult manatees (Juanita, Pepe and Lupita) that were released in the waters of Bayahibe on 27 June 2021 after they had spent years in captivity at the National Aquarium in Santo Domingo. The manatees had been rescued and were cared for at the aquarium with the intention of eventually setting them back in the wild.
Juanita is the youngest of the three manatees and has been tracked as she turned west from Bayahibe and headed back to Santo Domingo. On Tuesday, 16 November she made her way up the Ozama River after she passed the National Aquarium on the way in the Caribbean Sea waters.
In the Dominican Republic, the manatee conservation effort is sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, the National Aquarium and the Fundemar foundation. The species is in danger of extinction. The three named manatees have created a new awareness in Dominicans that now are more likely to protect the manatees.
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Diario Libre
17 November 2021