Tico, The West Indian Manatee, was saved and nursed back to health by a Brazilian NGO before undertaking a monumental journey after release.
The operation was a long-term one, and it took over eight years to nurse the unfortunate Tico back to health.
Post-release, Tico was tracked with the help of assistance from the Woods Hole Oceanographic institution. This is where things took a surprising turn: Tico embarked on what can only be described as an epic journey. The manatee traveled more than 2,500miles/4,024km from Ará, Brazil to La Blanquilla Island in Venezuela. Tico covered the distance in 62 days, which astonished the researchers watching his progress.
Commenting on the journey, WHOI Physical Oceanographer Iury Simoes-Sousa stated:
“Studying his path, we can assume that Tico had a very tiresome journey. Based on simulations of past sea-state conditions and satellite data, it’s likely he encountered multiple violent storms. The two probable sources of freshwater available to him were the storms themselves and the diluted Amazon River plumes intersecting with the ocean currents.”
Aquasis senior veterinarian Vitor Luz Carvalho added:
“We received an unexpected email from two fishers near Tobago saying they had spotted a manatee with a tag; we thought it may have been Tico, and we were able to confirm it was in fact Tico. We were so happy, some of us cried. By the time Tico reached the Margaritas Islands in Venezuela, he was in poor physical condition. A crew was able to transport him to a local aquarium for the intensive care and rehabilitation he required.”
