The Manatee Trust has partnered with the United States Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey (USGS), to conduct research on local manatees with the intention of understanding the animals and conservation of their habitat.
Founder of the Manatee Trust and president of the Zoological Society Gupte Lutchmedial said there may be more than 30 manatees in the country, living in a protected site maintained by the trust.
Manatees used to be a source of meat, preyed on by hunters. However, after education and protection from the trust, hunting of the animals has been eliminated.
The population size remains low, even while there have been sightings of baby manatees in the Nariva swamp.
On Friday, members of the Manatee Trust and USGS wildlife biologist James Reid met with Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat to discuss the ministry’s role in the protection of the animals.
According to Reid, who has been in T&T for just over a week observing the animals, there is a persistent population in an adequate habitat.
He said his aim was to identify areas of potential research.
While Lutchmedial estimated that there were 30 manatees in the country, this estimate was based on observation.
The trust is hoping for scientific data which will assist in securing the future of the local species.
“The US has taken manatees from being critically endangered to being downgraded to threatened so instead of reinventing the wheel we are going to use their expertise,” Lutchmedial said.
“We have a responsibility to protect everything. We are all part of the food chain and if they go we go. It is important that we protect them. They used to be around the country but they were all hunted down for meat.”
Another founding member, Nadra Nathai-Gyan, said the research would address information gaps that exist to allow for a proper conservation plan for the manatee and their habitat.
“We need to understand the population structure.
“We assume we have a viable population that is breeding. We don’t know the structure, how many males and how many females.
“We also talked about the regional connectivity of our species. Sometimes when a population reaches a level so low, sometimes we have to bring in species.”
She said these were decisions made based on science.
“We have to look at vegetation types, food availability, seasonality.”
As part of the thrust to protect the species, Rambharat said his ministry was considering expanding the conservation scope of the trust to ensure protection of wildlife and encourage eco-tourism.