Recovering and Going Back Home Isn’t Easy, Though
According to EFE, a group of specialists at the Dominican Republic National Aquarium began preparing the manatees for release a few months ago. Preparation involves carrying out tests to control their skin and heart rate and showing them how to look for their own food. The three manatees were used to being fed fruits and vegetables at the facility, something that won’t work when they’re on their own given that they tend to look for food on the seafloor.
To help the manatees learn this, the specialists have developed a system that uses tubes to put food at the bottom of the pools they currently live in. The specialists told EFE that the manatees have taken “a big step” towards release because they’ve already gotten used to looking for food at the bottom of their pools.
