A dead manatee washed ashore in Buttonwood Bay this morning. Even though manatees are a protected species, a dead manatee doesn't normally make it on the news. But today's dead manatee was the fourth that has been found in the same area just in the last two weeks. That's enough to sound the alarm and that's just what one conservation group did today.
Keith SwiftReporting,
This is what greeted Daisy McKenzie when she arrived at work this morning: a dead adult manatee floating in the sea near the shoreline on Sea Shore Drive.
Daisy McKenzie, Found Manatee
"This morning when I came to work, I went to get the key to open the restaurant, the Sea Shore Restaurant, and when I opened the door and I looked across, I saw the manatee out there. I went and told the boss. I told him there is a manatee in the yard and he asked where and I showed him."
Keith Swift,
What was your reaction when you saw it?
Daisy McKenzie,
"It was amazing to me because then it is the first time I've seen something that close like that, the only time I see it is on the TV."
Daisy McKenzie called us and we called manatee expert Nicole Auil who responded to the scene and did a quick assessment.
Nicole Auil, Manatee Expert
"What we have here is an adult dead male manatee that was hit by a boat. There is a large propeller wound, probably from one of the very large boats. Its not a small wound at all, a large wound that may have removed half of its tail so it's on the lower extremities of the body which more than likely led to its death. We unfortunately don't have a boat to move it to then open it up to conduct a proper necropsy where we would look at the internal organs and get a better confirmation, cause of death."
But even without a full examination - based on these large chop wounds - Auil strongly believes this manatee fell victim to a boat's propeller.
Nicole Auil,
"There is a lot of boat traffic particularly between Belize City,
the heart of Belize City, and the Belize River mouth. There are a lot of large boats that past through here to do tours so it's possible that one of those boats, being bigger boats with bigger engines and large propellers, did this. The propeller wound is very large though. It may even be something a little bit bigger."
She believes it may have been killed at least three days ago. But more alarming than the death of one manatee is the death of four. That's how many have been found dead in this area within the last two weeks.
Nicole Auil,
"This is the fourth animal in two weeks that we've had and they're all in the same area. The calf was around this site and the two adults were a little bit further north."
Keith Swift,
Should we be concerned?
Nicole Auil,
"Certainly and we ask boaters to please remember that this is a manatee area. Because it is a rainy season, the last time I flew over the river, a couple weeks ago, it looked a little flooded where you would likely not have manatees there but they would be outside of the river along the coastline near to the river. So be careful when traveling, using your big boat, have a look out on the boat."
And while that's for the safety of other manatees, the one we found this morning was already dead. Workers from SEL used an industrial sized chain to remove m the almost 900 pound mammal from the water and placed it on land for transportation to the dump or for burial on site.
Because manatees are a protected species, there is a penalty for killing them. But that's only a last resort, Auil advises boaters that have injured manatees to report the incidents since in most cases the manatees might be able to survive if they get medical help.
