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Normande, Iran Campello; Luna, Fabia De Oliveira; Mendes Malhado, Ana Claudia; Gomes Borges, Joao Carlos; Viana Junior, Pitagoras Carlos; Niemeyer Attademo, Fernanda Loeffer; Ladle, Richard J.
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2015 |
Eighteen years of Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus releases in Brazil: lessons learnt.
Oryx 49(2): 338-344. 1 tab. 2 figs. 1 pl. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605313000896. April 2015.
–ABSTRACT: The Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus was once widespread from the south-eastern coast of Brazil to Central America and the Caribbean. In Brazil habitat destruction and overhunting severely reduced and fragmented the wild population, restricting extant subpopulations to the north and north-east coast. In response to these threats an ambitious government-led programme was initiated in 1994, with the aim of rehabilitating orphaned manatee calves and releasing them into the southernmost subpopulation. The programme is unique within Brazil, and has invested unprecedented resources in post-release monitoring. So far 30 manatees have been released at three sites, with a high rate of success (> 75%). Time in captivity appears to be a key variable determining post-release success: too long or too short a time in captivity decreasing the probability of survival. We describe the main features of this long-term programme and identify six key lessons learnt: (1) close monitoring, health assessments and rescues can significantly increase the success of releases, (2) combining different monitoring techniques results in high-quality data and reduces tracking costs, (3) long-term studies are needed to effectively evaluate the results, (4) releasing manatees at c. 5 years of age can increase chances of success, (5) soft-release is important to aid acclimatization, and (6) the programme has been effective in raising awareness among the general public, supporting education and fund-raising.
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Oliveira Luna, Fábia de; Loffler Niemeyer Attademo, Fernanda
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2020a |
Sou Xica, o peixe-boi da praça do Derby [I'm Xica -the manatee from Derby Square].
São Paulo, Brazil, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos (ICMBio/CMA): 1-21. Illus. https://www.icmbio.gov.br/cma/images/stories/Publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/LivroXica.pdf
–Xica's book, with illustrations by the Spanish artist Andrés Serna, tells the story of the most famous Brazilian manatee. Xica was considered a "celebrity" and mascot of Pernambuco State, where she lived all her 53 years. She was the oldest known Brazilian manatee. She spent more than 20 years living in a small tank, in a public square in Recife, being one of the main attractions of the city. During that period, residents and tourists went to that square to visit Xica, being part of the family leisure. However, she suffered from being in an inadequate enclosure and with inappropriate food, among other things. For this reason, she acquired scoliosis. After two decades in that place, Xica was transferred to ICMBio/CMA, where she continued to be the main attraction for visitors. Even with Xica's death in 2015, she remains in people's imagination, being one of the main references of manatees when it comes to conservation. Through the story of this charming manatee, we present the importance of conservation of the species, in addition to a loving tribute to the "grandma" manatee.
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Oliveira Luna, Fábia de; Loffler Niemeyer Attademo, Fernanda
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2020b |
Vamos aprender com o peixe-boi? [Let´s learn with manatees?]
São Paulo, Brazil: Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade/Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos (ICMBio/CMA). Illus. https://www.icmbio.gov.br/cma/images/stories/Publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/LivroinfantilAprendendocomopeixe-boiICMBioCMA.pdf
–Children's book that uses playful language, which brings children closer to the manatee, through photos of the animals. The authors teach the biology of the species, talk about the importance of habitat preservation, explain about manatee rescue, rehabilitation and release and elucidate that in Brazil there are two species of manatees and that both are cared for by ICMBio/CMA. All teaching is carried out as if it was the manatee itself talking to the child, which facilitates the understanding of the information brought to this audience.
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Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 