The Little Mermaid was born! At the beginning of May, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Manatee Pavilion added a small West African manatee, although it is a newborn mother, but the mother manatee only took 1.5 hours to successfully give birth underwater naturally, quite "cattle"! It is reported that the manatee, commonly known as the "mermaid", was once considered endangered, and the three species of manatees existing in the world, all of which are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and the special low fertility rate makes its population rise in difficulty. Chimelong, which has created a number of animal breeding miracles, is a veritable animal blessed land, and the successful birth of the little West African manatee can be called the breeding miracle of the entire marine mammal "manatee order".
On May 22, media reporters took the lead in visiting the newborn "Little Mermaid", which was very cute and cute. According to Zhang Delu, deputy general manager of Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the young manatee, who was born 15 days ago, is very healthy and is expected to officially meet with the public around Children's Day.
First in the country: it is more difficult than hatching 9 emperor penguins at the same time
According to Liu Changping, manager of the animal management department of Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the West African manatee, also known as the African manatee, is distributed in west African coastal and West African rivers such as the Niger River, and is the only large marine mammal that eats vegetarian food, with a body length of up to 4.5 meters, a weight of up to 500 kilograms, a spindle-shaped body, a fan-shaped tail, and a gray body; thick and hard skin, and often has algae attached to the back, so it always gives people a "dirty" feeling. Interestingly, the mammary glands of female manatees grow at the base of the pectoral fin, which are very prominent during breastfeeding. Because cows sometimes show up to the surface of the water and hold their cubs on their chests to feed, they are beautifully mistaken for "mermaids" by ancient sailors. The world's three extant species of manatee: the Amazon manatee, the West Indian manatee and the West African manatee, were all listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2012. Because the West African manatee is a "treasure" all over its body, the high value of meat, fur, bones and grease has led to its extinct hunting since the 18th century; in addition, manatees are less emotional than other mammals, and female manatees breed only once every three to five years, with a gestation period of up to 11-13 months, usually one litter and one litter, and the low fertility rate makes its population rise difficult.
In Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Manatee Pavilion, there were originally five West African manatees, three females and two males. At around 20:00 on May 8, the Chimelong manatee population welcomed a new member, a robust male manatee, which took only 1.5 hours from the emergence of the tail of the cub to the time of production, and the process was very smooth. According to reports, the physical state of the baby manatee is very healthy, and the body length of the baby manatee at birth is 116cm and the weight is 25.4kg, which is equivalent to the physical standard of a 6-year-old child.
Liu Changping, who has more than ten years of animal conservation experience, laughed and said that for the first time in his life, he witnessed the birth of a manatee, which is also the first case in the country, and there is no experience in manatee breeding to learn from, and even more efforts than last year when Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom hatched 9 emperor penguins at the same time. Since the discovery and B-ultrasound examination in June last year to determine the pregnancy of the West African manatee, they have set up a team of experts, consulted a large number of books and materials, and took the initiative to contact and consult a number of foreign experts; at the same time, the introduction of advanced medical equipment, regular examination of the female manatee, separate observation and recording of her behavior and feeding, postpartum shifts for 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring; specially arranged for the mother and son to stay in the wild shoal of high imitation restoration, which allows the mother manatee to quietly "confinement". It also allows young manatees who cannot breathe freely in deep water to feed and swim normally. This successful breeding of the endangered West African manatee has accumulated very valuable experience.
Smooth childbirth: The "mermaid" mother naturally gives birth to a strong mother
On the day of delivery, the experts had already put on their wetsuits and waited nervously in order to give birth in time in case of dangerous conditions, but the mother manatee gave birth in only 1.5 hours. On the day of the visit, the manatee mother and son had a very good relationship, the head was always snuggled together, and the mother manatee would occasionally use her back to lift the cub out of the water from time to time and teach it to breathe and swim. The baby manatee eats milk 60-70 times a day, all of which are naturally breastfed by the mother manatee, and when she is feeding, the mother manatee will immediately stop chewing, keep the body still, and help the watery baby to suck.
In order to ensure that the mother manatee has enough milk, the conservation team specially supplemented the multi-water fruits such as papaya, and cut the vegetables into long strips and fed them continuously, so as to avoid food residues from contaminating the living environment of the newborn manatees. Mother manatees need to eat 40kg of cucumbers, Cabbage, eggplants and other vegetables every day, and the amount of food is amazing. The nursery team measures the amount of breast milk by weighing the cubs every day to adjust the portion of feeding.
According to Zhang Delu, deputy general manager of Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has been focusing on the breeding, research, conservation and popularization of rare marine and polar animals in the world. Penguins, dolphins, brown bears, sea lions, etc. all live happily here and blossom. Among them, 11 emperor penguins were successfully bred in two years, which not only set a record for the incubation of emperor penguins at the lowest latitude in Asia, but also created a record of successful hatching 9 emperor penguins at the same time. According to incomplete statistics, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has successfully bred more than 24,000 animals.
Parent-child Tips:
The mother and son of the manatee are expected to meet with the majority of tourists around Children's Day. It is the theme activity of "Parent-Child Month" of Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, covering Children's Day, Father's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, from now until June 18, the family tour Chimelong is 25% off, of which Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom 2 big and 1 small / elderly tickets from 710 yuan, 2 large and 2 small / elderly tickets from 780 yuan.
[Reporter] Cai Huafeng
【Photo】 Wu Weihong