The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or any of the funding organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN.
Published by: IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group & Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi
Copyright: © 2018 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
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Citation: Soorae, P. S. (ed.) (2018). Global Reintroduction Perspectives: 2018. Case studies from around the globe. IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland and Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE. xiv + 286pp.
6th Edition
ISBN: 978-2-8317-1901-6 (PDF) 978-2-8317-1902-3 (print edition)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2018.08.en
Cover photo: Clockwise starting from top-left: I. Reticulated python, Singapore © ACRES II. Trout cod, Australia © Gunther Schmida (Murray-Darling Basin Authority) III. Yellow-spotted mountain newt, Iran © M. Sharifi IV. Scimitar-horned oryx, Chad © Justin Chuven V. Oregon silverspot butterfly, USA © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service VI. Two-colored cymbidium orchid, Singapore © Tim Wing Yam VII. Mauritius fody, Mauritius © Jacques de Spéville
Cover design & layout by: Pritpal S. Soorae, IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group
Printed by: Arafah Printing Press LLC, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Download at: www.iucnsscrsg.org www.iucn.org/resources/publications
ii Mammals
Reintroduction of captive-raised Amazonian manatees in Brazil
Diogo A. de Souza1,2, Vera M. F. da Silva1,2, Rodrigo S. Amaral2,3, Mumi Kikuchi4, José A. d’Affonseca Neto1,2 & Fernando C. W. Rosas1
1 - Aquatic Mammals Laboratory/INPA. Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus/AM - Brazil 69060-000 [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] 2 - Friends of Manatee Association, AMPA. Rua Jaú, 17, Balbina, Presidente Figueiredo/AM - Brazil 69736-000 [email protected] 3 - Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of the Amazonas (IFAM). Av. Cosme Ferreira, 8045, São José Operário, Manaus/AM – Brazil 69086-475 [email protected], [email protected] 4 - Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University. 2-24 Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto - Japan 606-8203 [email protected]
Introduction The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is an exclusively freshwater sirenian endemic to the Amazon basin. It is widely distributed from the main Amazonian rivers of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to the estuary of the Amazon River in Brazil (Best, 1984). The species is classified as “Vulnerable” by IUCN (Marmontel et al., 2016) and the Brazilian Red Book, and it is listed in Appendix I of CITES. Historical commercial exploitation during recent centuries for oil, hide and meat was the main cause of its dramatic population reduction. Although protected by national laws in all countries of its distribution, T. inunguis hunting still persists for the subsistence of riverine communities and to maintain the illegal trade of its meat. To increase the ecological information available for this species and promote its conservation, since 1974, the Aquatic Mammals Laboratory of the National Institute of Amazonian Research, LMA/INPA, has rescued and rehabilitated orphan Amazonian manatee calves. The success of this rehabilitation program and research resulted in the establishment of a group of animals that could potentially be returned to the wild, promoting a new step toward the conservation of this species.
Goals Goal 1: To assess the re- adaptation of the captive-raised Amazonian manatees after release in the wild. Goal 2: To monitor the daily and seasonal movements of the released manatees. Amazonian manatee
187 Mammals