Tag Archives: manatees

Exploring a Hidden Mexican Cave and Diving with Manatees

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A mother manatee (pictured above) swims up to a cave diver in a flooded cave in Quintana Roo, Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Klaus ThiemannThey captured amazing photos of these endangered mammals living in unique, unexplored habitats. “Of course I think she's looking at me,” Tyman says. “But in reality, she's probably seeing what's on camera.”

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Carved into the limestone by flowing water, this cave system is thought to be up to 16,000 kilometers long and connects coastal and inland cenotes, freshwater-filled sinkholes created when cave roofs collapse. is. Timan and his fellow divers have been exploring this system (pictured above) to photograph manatees, which, unlike humans, can easily navigate passages.

Although manatees have likely lived in the area for generations, it is estimated that fewer than 250 manatees exist in the Mexican Caribbean, Tiemann said. Timan is concerned that nearby construction projects are endangering aquatic species in the area. A new railway line will further develop this popular tourist destination (pictured above). Construction can impede the flow of water through the system, starving it of oxygen and trapping manatees. Wastewater from surface runoff and sewage systems degrades the water quality of local aquifers.

Although the coastal area is protected as a manatee sanctuary, it does not extend as far inland as the manatees were photographed. So while the discovery of manatees in a relatively pristine cave system is good news, these habitats may not remain pristine for very long.

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Explore the world of manatees with this mini-documentary youtube.com/News Scientist

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Are freshwater manatees found in West Africa’s deep waters?

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The African manatee is one of three subspecies of these creatures. It belongs to the mammal family that also includes dugongs.

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“This is the perfect place for manatees,” said Lucy Keith Diagne, looking out at the slow mudflow of the Niandang River. It seems unlikely, but how did this mobile aquatic mammal, also known as a sea cow, live some 4,000 kilometers up Guinea's Niger River, almost as close to the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic Ocean? Is there one? But Keith Diagne, the world's leading expert on African manatees, should know.

These chubby creatures are known to inhabit the lower reaches of the Niger River, which stretches like a gigantic boomerang through much of West Africa, and long-standing anecdotal evidence suggests that they can be found separately in the upper reaches of tributaries near its source. This suggests that there is a population of Additionally, Dr. Keith Diagne believes that because this group has been separated from other manatees for so long, its members may have evolved into separate subspecies. “They went up the Niger River. They found something good. They kept going. They never came back and ended up different,” she said. Masu. But for now, this is just a guess.

To learn more, we drove hundreds of kilometers from the marshy coast of Guinea, across the highlands and down into the forested savanna in search of these elusive creatures. Keith Diagne and his team will spend a two-week expedition interviewing local residents, following clues from recent sightings, and searching for signs of feeding along riverbanks. Importantly, they also collect samples of…

Source: www.newscientist.com