News

By Tiare Fridrich, Manatee Biologist

In August 2021, a lone Antillean manatee calf was spotted by locals in Laguna Milagros in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The orphaned calf, who would be named Pompeyo, was estimated to be less than a month old when discovered. Pompeyo was rescued by the Quintana Roo Marine Mammal Stranding Network and transferred to CARMA, the Center for Marine Mammal Rehabilitation in Quintana Roo, Mexico, to receive care. At the time of rescue, Pompeyo weighed only 29 pounds.

Since his rescue, Pompeyo has continued receiving life-saving care from staff at CARMA, where he is being kept in an enclosure within Laguna Guerro. Laguna Guerro is a manatee sanctuary with a resident wild manatee population, meaning that Pompeyo can interact with wild manatees while he receives care from staff and veterinarians within his enclosure.

Dr. Nataly Castelblanco-Martinez, a researcher with the International Foundation for Nature and Sustainability (FINS) is the coordinator of the Quintana Roo Marine Mammal Stranding Network, which was responsible for Pompeyo’s rescue. The stranding network was created in 2015 by Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection to improve the management of stranded marine mammals in Mexico. There are more than a dozen organizations involved in the network, including, government agencies, research groups, nongovernmental organizations, private enterprises, and many student volunteers. As a part of this network, FINS has been raising funds for Pompeyo’s rehabilitation as well as coordinating an outreach campaign for locals to educate them on both the rehabilitation process and the importance of giving wild manatees their space, lest they become habituated to people.

Since late 2021, Save the Manatee Club has been financially supporting both Pompeyo’s rehabilitation and FINS’s local outreach campaign. Pompeyo is doing very well and is now fully weaned off of milk, which is common for manatees of his age. Pompeyo will continue receiving care at CARMA until he is ready to be released back into the wild. To follow his progress after release, and to ensure he is adapting well to life in the wild, researchers plan to tag Pompeyo and track his movements.