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Recently, the newborn baby of the little West African manatee "Little Billy" appeared in Zhuhai and met with tourists for the first time.
The manatee, commonly known as the "mermaid", was once considered endangered. There are three species of manatee living in the world, all of which are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Manatees give birth to only one litter at a time and take a longer gestation period of 14 months to give birth, and the low fertility rate has put its population in a difficult position. At the breeding base of the small West African manatee, by observing the bubbling of the manatee's nose, it is determined whether the manatee is pregnant and the expected date of delivery is estimated. When "Little Billie" was born, because it was the first birth, unlike the previous newborn manatees, the tail fins came out first, so there was a risk of drowning, fortunately, under the efforts of the mother of manatees and conservation experts, "Little Billy" was born safely. According to manatee conservation experts, the reason why it is called manatee is because it eats vegetarian food. Usually, the main food fed by the keepers is loofah, eggplant, apple, oil and wheat vegetables. When the baby manatee was born, it ate breast milk like a human, and after about a month of breast milk, it began to try to eat some of the more tender leaves.
When the reporter came to the aquarium, it was the time when the keepers fed the manatees. The keeper uses food in the water to attract the mother of "Little Billy", and "Little Billy" follows close behind, following her mother every step. "Little Billie" rolls over her round body from time to time, sticking to the glass wall and looking at the outside world curiously, and the "ugly and ugly" appearance attracts passing tourists to stop and watch. According to the keepers, "Little Billie" now weighs nearly 64 kilograms, is 135 centimeters long, and is in good physical condition. (CCTV reporter Zhao Jing, Chen Jiexiong)
(Editing by Wang Hongyu)