The manatee, an increasingly threatened national symbol of Costa Rica

The manatí, national symbol of Costa Rica Since 2014, it has been increasingly threatened by illegal fishing, hunting and pollution, revealed an investigation by environmental organizations on Tuesday.

Human activities such as illegal and incidental fishing, hunting, pollution, and boat collisions have caused the West Indian manatee populations to decline dramatically at the regional level in recent years.

A study, promoted by MarViva, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and the Costa Rica Wildlife Foundation (CRWF), which is carried out in the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge, in the northeastern Costa Rican Caribbean, has identified eight individuals that live in the area, which means a great advance given the complexity of its monitoring.

“Manatee threats are due to human activities and that is why community management becomes vital for a comprehensive and effective approach. We have been working since February 2020, and currently we have an organized group of citizens who inform us about sightings of this species “, said the biologist and CRWF co-researcher, Sofía Pastor.

According to experts, it is necessary to estimate the number of manatees present in a given site and understand how they use their habitat to improve decision-making regarding their protection. However, in Costa Rica manatees live in murky waters covered by aquatic vegetation, making it difficult to use traditional visual counting methods.

“Estimating the manatee population in Costa Rica is like working in the dark, it is a challenge to count what cannot be seen and this information gap and ignorance must be filled to make fundamental and science-based decisions that are required for the management of this aquatic mammal ”, highlighted the general director of Fundación MarViva, Jorge Jiménez.

Research indicates that each manatee has its own vocalization and their calls can be linked to specific individuals, offering a way to estimate the number of manatees present in a particular habitat at any given time.

“Although difficult to spot, manatees communicate with each other underwater, emitting screeches or hisses to attract mates, stay in contact with young, mate and warn of threats. With these vocalizations we can identify where, when and who is underwater, and how often they pass through the same place ”, explained the STRI ecologist and co-investigator of the project, Héctor Guzmán.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species in danger of extinction, therefore, scientists have asked the Costa Rican State to promote its protection with public and private efforts directed towards the conservation of this mammal.

Part of the efforts is to promote awareness and involvement activities with members of the communities where the initiative is carried out to promote their protection and conservation.

The Costa Rican Congress approved in July 2014 a bill promoted by students from the Limoncito elementary school, Limón province (Caribbean), with which the manatee was declared as the country’s national symbol.

The so-called “sea cows” are peaceful, shy and vegetarian animals, which are located in the Caribbean area and can measure four and a half meters and weigh 600 kilos.

In addition to the manatee, Costa Rica has other natural species as national symbols such as the yigüirro (Turdus grayi), the Guanacaste tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), the purple guaria (Guarianthe skinneri), the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the sloth. in its two species: the two-toed (Choleopus Hoffman) and the three-toed (Barypus Variegatus).