Coming up!
Jonathan and Todd search the waters of the Caribbean for a rare inhabitant—the Antillean
manatee!
Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
Most people have heard of West Indian manatees.
These slow, plant-eating marine mammals are most commonly seen in Florida.
In fact the Florida sub-species is much more common than the Antillean sub-species, which
is found scattered in small numbers all around the Caribbean.
There are only about 2,500 Antillean manatees in the entire Caribbean, and about 800 of
those live in Belize, making Belize one of the best places in the Caribbean to spot one
of these rare marine mammals.
Today Cameraman Todd and I are visiting Caye Caulker, off the coast of Belize, known for
having 10-20 Antillean manatees in residence.
Our hosts, Olivia and Max from Sunrise Scuba, are taking us out to look for our first Antillean
manatee.
Although I’ve seen hundreds of Florida manatees, I’ve never seen an Antillean manatee.
The weather is not ideal for finding manatees, but we never let that get in the way of our
plans!
And there’s one other potential problem…
You see right here?
About one month ago there was a pretty severe crocodile attack.
No way!
Yeah, it was one of our friends.
We hope it’s gone.
They are looking for it.
We begin the search in the mangroves around the island.
We find a big school of tarpon, and decide to hop in and get some shots, under the watchful
eye of Penelope the Pelican.
Juvenile fish use the extensive roots of the mangroves for protection.
If they stray out of the mangroves, they will face dozens of tarpon, waiting for them.
The tarpon don’t seem to mind us at all.
Then we discover a hole in the bottom of the ocean.
Todd and I are always on the lookout for a potential cave dive.
So, Todd free-dives down to have a look.
Oh, Todd’s going to try….
There’s a buoy marking the entrance.
Definitely a cave.
We don’t have cave diving gear with us, but we can take a quick look in the entrance
with regular scuba gear.
We can feel the water rushing into the cave.
Timing the tides correctly would be very important for diving here.
But not today.
Out on the sand, a Cassiopeia jellyfish gathers sunlight for power.
But there are no manatees, so it’s time to resume our search.
We head offshore, to search out near a sea grass bed that the manatees sometimes like.
On the way, we pass a popular place for snorkeling with sharks.
Uh oh!
Sharks!
My golden rule: never snorkel with sharks.
But they’re only Nurse sharks…not very dangerous to people.
For years, fishermen have cleaned their fish here, and the sharks have learned to associate
boats with free food.
When a boat pulls up, a bunch of Nurse sharks and stingrays come over looking for a snack.
When we join them in the water, they most likely think we are there for the scraps too.
They’re definitely not aggressive towards us and don’t think we are the food.
There is a pretty strong current here, and that makes it challenging to film without
being carried away.
Even sharks like hugs.
Manatees love this kind of sea grass, but there are no manatees.
Surprisingly more difficult than it looks even though it’s like four feet deep, because
there’s current and there’s wind and there’s waves.
And all I have is a smorkel.
With the wind calming down, we head over to another good sea grass bed.
Olivia thinks she sees something.
There is a shape in the water!
Todd hops in without scuba gear to check it out.
He reports back that it’s definitely a manatee, so I don my scuba gear.
Fortunately, the manatee doesn’t seem to mind our presence.
As long as we keep a respectful distance, the animal goes about its business.
This
area is a mix of coral reef and sea grass.
Manatees are herbivorous—they eat only plants.
The sea grass is an all-you-can-eat salad, but it takes a lot of sea grass to sustain
an animal this big.
So manatees are almost always pooping.
This manatee, who we decide to call Marco, is pretty much fully grown.
Marco could reach about 1,000 pounds.
That takes a lot of sea grass!
Since I’ve only seen manatees in fresh water rivers and springs in Florida, I’ve never
seen a manatee swimming over a coral reef.
Marco has what looks like a shark bite out of his tail.
Fully-grown manatees can generally steer clear of sharks, but babies are vulnerable.
He has probably had this scar for a long time.
The slow nature of the manatee made it a target of hunters for many years.
Although they are protected now, the population of Antillean manatees is extremely low, and
in some places, they no longer exist.
Scientists are worried about the long-term viability of the species.
For us, just finding one animal was extremely lucky.
Manatees are mammals like whales, so Marco needs to surface and breathe every few minutes.
And humans also need to breathe.
Todd and I are getting low on air, so it’s time to head back to the boat.
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a manatee on a coral reef.
I’ve seen a dugong on a coral reef.
Woo, worked me out though.
Used a lot of energy.
Todd and I get out of the water and leave Marco to munch his salad in peace.
His future, and the future of his species, is as unclear as the water.
I hope that with protection, Antillean manatees can make a comeback, restoring their rightful
place in the Blue World.
Hey you guys!
Check out that video, it’s a really good one.
Also this one’s pretty good too.
Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe!