Marvin del Cid, the Diario Libre reporter who has been covering the plight of rescued manatees and their release back to the sea, says that all is well with the manatees. Juana, Pepe and Lupita, the trio of rescued manatees, have adapted after a year of their release back to nature in Bayahibe on 27 June 2021. The decision then was taken by late Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera and was implemented by deputy minister Jose Ramon Reyes in coordination with the Dominican Foundation of Sea Studies (Fundemar) based in Bayahibe and the National Aquarium.
Del Cid explains that while Juana had been rescued as a grown manatee, Pepe and Lupita were babies and had lived practically all their lives (eight years) at the National Aquarium when they were released to Caribbean Sea waters. All three are now feeding on their own from river and sea food sources.
Juana chose to go west from Bayahibe back to the area of her home in the National Aquarium, a distance of around 100 km. She has kept to the area of the Ozama River where she eats the water hyacinths in the river that are in abundance. Lupita has kept in the area of Bayahibe and Saona island and now is in the nearby area of Boca de Yuma. Pepe kept to the waters of the Chavon River in La Romana for around 10 months but then returned to Bayahibe, ventured into the Caribbean Sea waters to later return to remain in the Salado River in La Romana city, where he is now.
Del Cid reports the biggest challenge has been to make the populations in these areas aware of the manatees, that are friendly and carefree. He says they are educating people to not feed the manatees. On one occasion, a person removed the GPS locator from the manatee. Another challenge has been to change the batteries of the GPS locators. The manatees have been cooperative. The manatees are no longer being fed by the marine biologists, but they are constantly monitored by the team of experts.
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Diario Libre
29 June 2022