Extremely rare baby Caribbean manatee born in Poland

A celebration took place in the Wroclaw Zoo, as an extremely rare Caribbean manatee was born. The birth was successfully captured on video.

The baby animal born at Wrocław Zoo is doing great, swimming like a pro, and growing incredibly fast. He is a male and the fifth offspring of this species to be born at Wrocław Zoo.

The birth of manatee

The moment of birth of the youngest member of the herd was captured on film by the Zoo’s staff.

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The mother of the youngest manatee in Wrocław is Abel, who flew to Wrocław in 2017 from Singapore. The baby born in September is his second son. The first one’s name is Ambroży. The name of the youngest calf (that’s what the baby manatees are called) will also start with the letter A – according to the custom, it should start with the same initial as the mother’s name.

Baby manatee bottle-fed

Despite the smooth delivery, the baby manatee’s mother neglected the newborn, requiring the caretakers to resort to bottle feeding him.

He’s an incredibly large pup, weighing an impressive 30 kilograms at birth and continuing to grow bigger each day. His growth is far from over. Once he reaches adulthood, he’s expected to weigh approximately one and a half tons!

Currently, Manat consumes approximately 400 ml of milk daily. He is projected to initiate sampling plant matter once he reaches a month old, with an existing penchant for lettuce already evident. For a period extending to nearly six months, he will maintain a diet encompassing both milk and solid foods.

“Although the young one is progressing excellently, the caregivers are hopeful that his mother, Abel, will assume full responsibility for his upbringing. Abel had competently cared for her first son, Ambroży, which fuels this hope. Additionally, she demonstrated her nurturing skills when she looked after Letycja, the daughter of another female named Ling.”

Consuming 125 kilos of lettuce daily

Caribbean manatees are herbivorous animals. In the wild, they feed on aquatic vegetation, including seagrasses (they inhabit both saltwater and freshwater environments, including the mouths of rivers flowing into the Caribbean Sea basin).

From time to time they also eat mollusks and small fish.

“In the Wroclaw zoo, they are the largest salad-eaters: they consume 125 kilograms of butter lettuce each day – 25 boxes each weighing 5 kg. They supplement their diet with stems of young corn and vegetables. The whole herd here at Wrocław Zoo consumes food worth several hundred thousand zloty annually.”
Weronika Skupin, Wrocław ZOO
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Currently, more than 100 manatees are being bred in 22 locations worldwide, with 42 of them located in 10 centers across Europe.

Caribbean manatees are one of the rarest animals threatened with extinction. In Poland, they can only be seen in the Wroclaw zoo. The herd currently consists of 6 individuals.