Uniform Donation Inspires Pride and Contributes to Manatee Conservation Work
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| A manatee mills close to a resting hole in Caño Estero Hondo, a coastal lagoon in the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of Estero Hondo in the Dominican Republic. (Photo by Haydée Domínguez Tejo) |
They say clothes make the man, but in the Dominican Republic, they are also contributing to the protection of an endangered species. Save the Manatee Club recently gave $1,000 to purchase uniforms and boots for park rangers in the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of Estero Hondo in the Dominican Republic. The Club was assisted by Haydée Domínguez Tejo, a local manatee biologist.
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| Manatee researcher Haydée Domínguez Tejo purchases uniforms and boots at a military store in Santo Domingo. (Photo courtesy Haydée Domínguez Tejo) |
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The rangers help protect manatees within the sanctuary in a coastal lagoon called Caño Estero Hondo, which is an important manatee activity center with protected shallow warm waters, freshwater sources, and abundant seagrasses. “Currently, it is the only site we know of where manatees are present throughout the year,” says Domínguez Tejo, who has done field research on manatees in two marine mammal sanctuaries of the Dominican Republic. “Sightings frequently include mother-calf pairs, which is a sign that manatees prosper and successfully reproduce in these waters. This is due in great part to the work of numerous park rangers who have watched over the lagoon since the mid 1990s. Although there is relatively low human impact in the area, the park rangers have been responsible for reducing the illegal use of fishing nets within the lagoon and not allowing boats to enter.”
Manatees found in the Dominican Republic are Antillean manatees, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, and they are listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Antillean manatees can be found in fresh and marine waters throughout the Greater Antilles, the Atlantic coast of Central America, and South America down to eastern Brazil. The area where most individuals are found is the southeastern coast of Mexico and the coast of Belize (Quintana Rizzo and Reynolds, 2009).
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| Park rangers receive their uniforms and boots. (Photo courtesy Haydée Domínguez Tejo) |
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Within the Greater Antilles, in the Island of Hispaniola, manatees were known by the native Taíno Indians since before Spanish colonization. However, scientific studies of manatees today in the Dominican Republic and Haiti are scarce and discontinuous. “Researchers believe that manatees favor marine waters in the northwest, northeast, and southwest coasts,” says Domínguez Tejo. “Population estimates range from as little as 60 to possibly around 200 individuals, but the actual population size is unknown.” Manatees in the Dominican Republic have been protected by national laws since 1938 and also by international agreements. However, Domínguez Tejo notes that law enforcement is lax, and there is still illegal manatee hunting. “Future steps include more research efforts to determine population status and a national conservation and recovery plan for the species,” she says.
“Park Administrator Jhony Javier Acevedo and the park rangers of the sanctuary are working very hard to protect Caño Estero Hondo,” says Domínguez Tejo. “The park rangers are proud of their work, contributing to the conservation of an endangered species that is the symbol of the sanctuary. The donation of uniforms to the park rangers not only acknowledges their accomplishments but also gives them a sense of pride for their work and identifies them properly as local authorities. The park rangers, the park administrator, and I would like to thank Save the Manatee Club for the support provided.”
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| The uniformed park rangers. (Photo by Haydée Domínguez Tejo) |
Reference
Quintana-Rizzo, E., and J.E. Reynolds, III. In press 2009. Regional Management Plan for the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). United Nations Environment Programme, Kingston, Jamaica.
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