Like Father, Like Son:
Gene and Dundee Try Life in the Wild
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| It's a great day for a release at Blue Spring State Park. A television camera crew sets up at the release site as 127 manatees bask in warm waters of the spring run. (Photo © David R. Schrichte) |
On a beautiful day at the end of February, a large crowd gathered at Blue Spring State Park in Florida, despite the fact that it was not a weekend. The weather was sunny and in the low 70s, and 127 manatees gathered in the spring run. Television and newspaper reporters and photographers milled about and a helicopter from a local TV station hovered overhead. Suddenly, two large white trucks pulled into the parking lot and drove over to the canoe launch near the mouth of the spring. Gene and Dundee had arrived.
Gene and Dundee are two manatees that have spent time undergoing rehabilitation at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. After passing physicals in January, they were cleared for release back into the wild. Both manatees have spent many years living at the same facilities, including SeaWorld Orlando and also in Ohio at the Cincinnati and Columbus Zoos. But Gene and Dundee have one other thing in common: the two manatees happen to be father and son.
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(Top to bottom) The trucks bearing Gene and Dundee arrive. Park visitors crowd along the walkway to observe. (Photos by Terry Nearing.) |
Manatees do not form permanent pair bonds like some animal species, so it is unusual to know the identity of a manatee’s father unless the manatee was born in captivity. Dundee was born at SeaWorld Orlando to Rita and Gene and is about 22 years old. This is his second release attempt. He was first released back into the wild in February 2006 but was brought back into captivity after he lost about 34% of his body weight. After several months of care at Lowry Park Zoo, Dundee is back in fine shape – weighing over 1,300 pounds and healthy enough to try life in the wild again.
Gene was born in the wild and was rescued in 1977 in Brevard County after he was hit by a boat. A juvenile at the time, Gene was taken to SeaWorld Orlando to receive treatment and has lived in captive facilities since then. Although he has been a long-term captive animal, he is thought to be a good candidate for release because he is in good health and has had approximately two years of previous experience in the wild.
Back at the park, the truck doors open and the release preparations begin. “Monica is really pleased,” says Ranger Wayne Hartley, referring to Monica Ross, a biologist with Wildlife Trust who is facilitating the manatee release. “The run is full of manatees, and this is an excellent time for Gene and Dundee to hook up with them and get educated about living in the wild.” Ranger Wayne, Park Manager Robert Rundle, and several other park staff are there to lend a hand.
“This will be an opportunity for us to try the ‘slip ‘n slide technique,’” says Ross. Although Gene and Dundee had been lifted out of their tanks and loaded into their respective trucks by a crane at Lowry Park Zoo, the manatees – weighing a total of over 3,000 pounds – have to be carried down the embankment in stretchers to the water at Blue Spring. It’s no simple job, but the task is made easier by a new walkway installed at the park last year specifically for manatee releases. For this occasion, blue tarps sluiced with water had been placed on top of the walkway to help ease the manatees down the bank. Gene will be released first, followed by Dundee.
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(Top) Each of the manatees is carried down the embankment in stretchers. (Bottom) Gene awaits release preparations. (Photos © David R. Schrichte)
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Terry Nearing, a Club volunteer and editor of The Manatee Zone, the Club’s membership newsletter, was photographing the release preparations and got an up close and personal view of the proceedings: “After each manatee was carried (and slid) on a large stretcher down the new ramp and onto the beach,” said Nearing, “Monica and her assistants took some basic measurements of their health, including heart rate, size, and body fat. She also photographed both the left and right side of each manatee. The release team did their best to keep the manatees calm during this prepping procedure and also kept their skin moist by spritzing them from time to time from a spray bottle.”
After the release preparations are completed and the tracking device is placed around the base of the manatee’s tail, each manatee is turned on his stomach and pointed headfirst toward the water. With a count of “1,2,3,” he is carried into the water until it is deep enough for him to swim. The park visitors stand on the walkways and cheer and applaud as Gene and Dundee swim away. It’s an emotional moment. “That’s the best five dollars I ever spent,” says a man in the crowd.
The moment is made even more poignant by the sight of several wild manatees that gather nearby in the water as Gene and Dundee are prepared for release. It’s as if they are the welcoming committee come to investigate the newcomers. And when Dundee is released, the waiting manatees are startled -- turning to dive at the same time with a loud splash of their tails. It’s a remarkable phenomenon, but why did it occur? Later, Ross gives her theory:
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Biologist Monica Ross adjusts Gene's tracking belt.
(Photo © David R. Schrichte)
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“A cameraman standing in the water before Gene’s release attracted about five curious manatees,” she said. “In addition, the press helicopter also caused a disturbance up the spring run, which drove other animals to mill around in the deeper waters near the release site. Gene’s release was slow and very calm, due to his large size (over 1,900 pounds), and didn’t disturb the animals close by. As he left the stretcher, there were about 11 manatees that immediately approached him, and they were likely responding to his entry vocals once he hit the water.”
“Now for the massive disturbance,” she continued. “After the helicopter left the area and things got quiet again, all those animals that had readjusted their placement began to bottom rest. When we entered the water with Dundee, we were not as quiet as when we entered with Gene. That probably freaked out someone, and the whole place went up in boils as animals quickly moved about in response to a distress vocal. It wasn’t the ‘wild man Dundee’s’ return that caused the manatees to get disturbed, it was us humans!”
Both Gene and Dundee are being monitored through the efforts of the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership, a coalition of organizations that monitors the health and survival of rehabilitated and released manatees (see members below). They will be tracked for 13 months to make sure they are acclimating to the wild. Radio signals sent from the transmitter in their tracking devices are received by polar orbiting satellites and yield location data on the manatees, and the tracking team will be able to access this information daily by computer.
The rest of us will cross our fingers and hope they do well.
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| Remarkable phenomenon: As Dundee is released, the manatees nearby are startled -- turning to dive at the same time with a loud splash of their tails. (Photo by Terry Nearing) |
Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership members include the Cincinnati Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, The Living Seas at Epcot/Walt Disney World, Lowry Park Zoo, Miami Seaquarium, Save the Manatee Club, SeaWorld Orlando, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey- Sirenia Project, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, and Wildlife Trust.
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