Meet Daniel the friendly manatee; he lives in semi-captivity in Laguna Guerrero, Chetumal Bay, Quintana Roo, Mexico, but lately has found his way down the coast of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize. As you can see Daniel is super friendly and apparently loves the company of children.
Daniel visited the Rivero ranch just west of Ambergris Caye in the calm waters of the lagoon-side of the island. He approached Angelique and her cousin and decided to stay around and play for a while.
“It took the girls a few minutes to get in the water with him,” stated Johnnia Rivero Duarte. “What a great experience for them. He came so close when he heard them playing and left until they went inside. He actually wrapped his front flippers around Angelique as if he was hugging her.”
Daniel the manatee is under the supervision of ECOSUR (Colegio de al Frontera Sur) Environmental Research Center in the Chetumal area. In May he was tagged with a tracking system that consists of a latex belt (seen on its tail), nylon rod, and satellite radio transmitter. So the staff at ECOSUR most definitely know of Daniel’s whereabout in Belize as the transmitter sends his location data back to them.
Daniel was a newborn when he was found in September 2003 in Laguna Guerrero, Chetumal Bay and should have still been breastfeeding, but despite efforts to find his mother to return it to her, it was not possible. So the staff of ECOSUR rescued the orphaned manatee and nurtured it for eight months.
Now in semi-captivity, Daniel is free to move around freely. Looks like he is an adventurous one, making his way to Belize.
