We are so lucky! Today a baby manatee was born, a new member of our manatee family at Puerto Aventuras, Riviera Maya. Juliette the mother has given birth this morning to a healthy, perfect manatee who is now breastfeeding. The baby manatee use to weight 44 pounds and measure less than 3 feet when they born, but they grow very fast. It is too soon to know if it is a male or a female though we are pretty sure Juliette will take care of her baby very well like she did before with her previous babies.
Yoltzin was born in August 2005 and it was the second one born under human care in Mexico, nowadays it is living at Dreams location, over there in Puerto Aventuras. Quijote was her second baby, born in 2008, he is living in Cozumel with his brother Edgarin, he was born two years later in September 2010 being Juliette’s third baby. In November 2012 at Puerto Aventuras the baby manatee Lorencillo was born and he lives right there were the newborn has just yet arrived and they will be best siblings and best friends certainly.
The reproductive program of this specie is a matter of much importance for Dolphin Discovery Group because this type of marine mammals are under threat of extinction in the region and all over Mexico.The manatee census at Quintana Roo and Yucatan indicated that there are only between 200 and 250 manatees living in the area and over the rest of the country there are proximately from 1500 to 2000. These numbers are given by the Dr. Benjamin Morales from Ecosur Center, at Chetumal. We have collaborative and investigative agreements with them and we always celebrate all together the “Manatee’s National Day” which is on September the 7th. We cordially invite you to come to Puerto Aventuras to see this beautiful newborn.