VIDEO
Saving the Amazon manatee with a show of humanity
The elusive aquatic mammal, which is vital to the jungle ecosystem, risks being hunted and trafficked to extinction. But a group of ‘guardians’ are fighting back
The Amazonian manatee, which is hunted for its meat, is a peaceful creature that “lives according to its own rhythm”
Ten people are needed to lift Moeüchi — whiskered nose at one end and paddle-shaped tail at the other — out of the water and on to a stretcher so that they can carry him through the dense undergrowth towards a waiting boat.
Moeüchi is a rare Amazonian manatee, a shy and solitary species of herbivore that glides almost unseen through the waterways of the Amazon basin, visible only by their noses, which they push above the surface to breathe before submerging again. They play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of their aquatic environment, on which the whole jungle depends.
At full size Moeüchi could weigh half a tonne and eat 40kg of vegetation a day
Now, five years after he was rescued from illegal captivity as an undernourished orphan, it is time to reintroduce him to the
