Dolphin Discovery and the National Day of the Manatee
What animal is this? Is it like a sea lion? Does it look like a dolphin? These are some of the dozens of questions we hear from our guests every day at Dolphin Discovery about the manatees. Sometimes they are called “sea cows” or “marine elephants”, we simply call them by their name, manatee.
Mexico, especially the state of Quintan Roo, should be proud to have this species in the region. It’s an animal that can weigh almost one tonne, it’s movements in the water are slow and it has no natural predator except, like many other species, human beings which are its largest threat. Their diet is exclusively vegetarian and they do not have visible teeth like the dolphin. Their need to breathe air at the surface of the water has led to hundreds of manatee deaths due to the impact of the propellers of boats and the dangers of fishing nets. Dolphin Discovery uses this as inspiration to celebrate the National Day of the Manatee every September 7 as a commemorative event and opportunity to educate the next generations about our work and to invite youth to make the manatees are a part of their lives too.
Thanks to the efforts of institutions like Colegio Frontera Sur and Dolphin Discovery, every year information about these marine mammals is shared with hundreds of people. The meeting occurs in Chetumal, the center of the celebrations of this important day. Dolphin Discovery Coordinator of Environmental Education Rosario Garcia and two of her team members travel to the state capital to work with the team of Dr. Benjamin Morales in providing two days of free activities. The Environmental Education team is coordinated by the subdirection of trainers group, Edgar Urbina, Manuel Garduño and Alex Mata which attends the most relevant national and international events related to the environment.
During the two days there are numerous delightful activities for children and adults; gifts, murals, direct interaction with the biologists, creating art with recycled materials, an endless series of moments dedicated to inspiring the next generation of caregivers to our planet to conserve the species and create a consciousness about the use of natural resources.
The biggest threat to the manatee is the contamination of the natural lagoons, pollution is destroying the areas and the availability of food sources is diminishing because of human irresponsibility. Dolphin Discovery will not stand idly by, in our ten locations in Mexico we demonstrate to our guests the fragility of the species and the large quantity of waste and garbage that ends up in the ocean and lagoons.
The texture of a plastic bag underwater is almost the same as marine algae and the poor vision of the manatee does not allow it to distinguish between the two. This is just one of dozens of examples of why we need to care about how we live our daily lives.
Dolphin Discovery is home to 11 manatees, 4 of which were born in our installations and others that have been rescued as in the case of Robert. Only two days old and orphaned, he was brought to our Puerto Aventuras location where the Grupo Dolphin family of manatees along with trainers and veterinarians raised him. Now everyone can meet him in our natural lagoon.
In just two days of the events in Chetumal, 150 children participated in the educational programs of Dolphin Discovery on September 7, and a total of 420 children visited our Day of the Manatee displays which, without a doubt, will leave them with a grand impression of this animal and the importance of conservation.
Albert Einstein said “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”