Jonathan Perez-Rivera left Gabon last night after spending the past 4 months working with orphan calf Victor and training his Gabonese caretakers. Victor is now steadily gaining weight and we're learning valuable new information about the growth of West African manatees through the data Jonathan carefully collected. We hope he can return to Gabon to continue working with Victor once he finishes his Masters degree in Puerto Rico. He has done a fantastic job and I'm very impressed with his efforts despite very remote and rustic field conditions.
Jonathan and I met up in Libreville this past weekend and spent both days discussing Victor's present and future, as well as other possible future work he might do for manatees in Africa. And of course we had time for a farewell beer at the Tropicana before he flew home on Sunday night! Cheers and safe travels Jonathan!
Victor, the orphan manatee calf being rehabilitated in southern Gabon has now reached 30kg! This is a good milestone because it has taken a long time for him to steadily gain weight. When he was rescued he weighed 27 kg, but he lost weight for awhile before he adjusted to his diet of soy milk. For manatees (unlike people) fat is good! West African manatees are generally smaller than their cousins the Florida manatee, but no one has ever raised an African calf in captivity for this long before, so we don't know what normal growth is. Victor is providing his caregivers, consulting vets, and everyone else involved lots of new information. 