Action

Consolidating the reproduction programme

The reinforcement of the reintroduction programme will enable the birth in captivity of manatees native to Guadeloupe.

Reinforcement of infrastructures: as presented in the ?equipment? section, the breeding centre will be equipped with a platform lift to handle gestating females, as well as a shade area to maximise the comfort of calves.

Establishment of protocols: protocols ensuring the good conduct of the programme are essential. They consist of verifying the food, eating behaviour and stock management, monitoring the behaviour of gestating females, monitoring the sanitary status as well as the quality of the water, and establishing procedures for the capture and immobilisation of the animals. These protocols will be established by the team of carers with the aid of volunteers.

Care and weaning of calves: after birth, the calf will be left in contact with its mother for nursing and to learn the specific behaviour of the species. Should a mother abandon her calf, the latter will be isolated from its mother and then cared for by the team with a programme of reinforced medical monitoring. A weaning programme will then be implemented.

 

Ensuring the reintroduction of animals by a programme incorporating pre-release

The reintroduction programme is based on an intermediate passage in a pre-release enclosure. This facility will be constructed upstream, during the preparatory phase. It will enable an acclimation of the animals, increase the success of the reintroduction and ensure their release at the appropriate time.

Two types of animals can be cared for: juveniles from the captive breeding programme, and certain captive animals obtained through regional cooperation. To do this, a protocol of fitness for transfer to the pre-release enclosure will be established and monitoring protocols will then be set up, incorporating regular partial recaptures in order to ensure that the animals are in good health. Interactions with humans will be minimised in the pre-release enclosure.

Following a certain amount of time in the natural environment, an assessment of fitness for release, based on experience and Caribbean protocols, will permit to judge the capacity of an individual to be released or not.

 

 

Establishing and operating an animal care facility

The existence and good operation of a manatee care centre are essential for the success of the reintroduction programme. The medical interventions and the early care of ill or injured animals will ensure the good health of the animals and reduce the risk of mortality. In this way the sustainability of the reintroduced population will be ensured.

The construction of the centre provided for in the ?preparation? phase will enable appropriate care to be given to the animals in the event of injury or illness. Animals requiring medical intervention will be captured in a net by the staff of the centre and then returned to the care centre by land or by boat. Individuals requiring intensive medical surveillance, repeated care or long-term treatment will remain in the artificial pools at the care centre.

The correct operation of the care centre will include the training of animal carers for the procedures to follow concerning the feeding of animals, medical training, the maintenance of the pools, the hygiene procedures to respect, manatee monitoring and handling the animals. Those responsible for animals and the veterinarian will receive continuous training on the protocols for the management and monitoring of a manatee population, recent progress in science and medicine, etc.