A Visit with Twiggy, and Comics as a Tool for Teaching in Central America
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| Hilmar Salazar with the Wildtracks rehabilitation facility in Belize feeds Twiggy, a manatee calf rescued in June. (Photo by Artie Wong, Save the Manatee Club) |
By Artie Wong,
Staff Biologist,
Save the Manatee Club
In October, I attended a manatee workshop during the XIII Congress of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation in Belize City. The conference was titled “Conservation Challenges in a Rapidly Shrinking Planet.” Scientists from Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, Panama, Guadeloupe, and the United States presented on their manatee research findings and a discussion panel was also held to answer questions on climate change. Sharing information among scientists of different countries is an important way to develop solutions for manatee conservation, as the challenges faced are often quite similar.
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| Biologist Artie Wong helps to do a health assessment onTwiggy. (Photo by Cathy Beck, U.S. Geological Survey, Sirenia Project) |
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A Visit with Twiggy
Following the workshop, scientists visited the Wildtracks manatee rehabilitation facility in Belize, and we were able to meet Twiggy, the orphaned manatee calf rescued in June of this year. Weighing only 56 pounds upon rescue, Twiggy the manatee received her name from the famously thin 1960s British model. However, Twiggy’s manatee namesake is looking better than ever and now weighs 96 pounds.
The Wildtracks volunteers provide feedings for Twiggy around the clock. She consumes approximately 10 kg (almost 3 gallons) of milk formula every three weeks, and Save the Manatee Club has helped pay for her food and the salary for her caretaker (thank you members!). Like with any baby, Twiggy can be fussy at times, and it can take some encouragement to get her to eat and stop playing. Twiggy enjoys exploring her surroundings by tasting things with her mouth. I experienced this behavior firsthand when I got an opportunity to feed her and she tried to chew on my shorts and hair during feeding times! When she is tired, Twiggy likes to sleep under the overhang of a partially inflated air mattress in her pool.
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| The cover and a page from a comic book produced by the Fundación Trichechus in Costa Rica and partially funded by Save the Manatee Club. |
Comics as a Teaching Tool in Central America
Another project that Save the Manatee Club has recently helped to fund is the production of a comic book by Fundación Trichechus, a group working to protect manatees in Costa Rica. In Central America, manatees are threatened by human activities that include hunting, pollution, habitat loss, and watercraft collisions. In the comic book, a young boy and a manatee teach about these threats and why it is important to protect waterways and the land that surrounds them. This informative and entertaining book is a valuable tool that will help educate young people throughout Central America about threats to manatees and their habitat.
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| An educational sign used to warn boaters |
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”Save the Manatee Club has provided a continuous and significant support to the Fundación Trichechus from its beginnings through financing our research projects in Nicaragua and Costa Rica,” says Carlos Espinoza, executive director of the group and illustrator of the comic book. “They have also supported our participation in international congresses and helped in printing each of our educational materials. These materials have served as a reference throughout Central America, including comics printed in the Miskita language for indigenous tribes living in the Carribean section of Nicaragua. In keeping with this tradition, SMC has supported the printing of our most recent educational materials, a trip through the biodiversity of the trans border swaps in between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, full of learning and exciting action. Thanks to SMC for your help in our work!”
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