On June 24 this year, shortly after the successful breeding of the country's first small West African manatee (Bill) in Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (born on May 8, 2018), the good news came from the manatee pavilion again - the first female West African manatee baby (the cub of the mother manatee XiXi) was successfully born. The real "Little Mermaid" is fatter and more cute than "Bill", weighing 32.4 kg at birth, and now 100 pounds in 50 days, equivalent to the weight of an adult woman. This summer, this "cow sister" officially met with the majority of tourists, not only through the underwater "catch the week" to get the name, but also personally "voiced" to answer questions, really can be described as a young "cow" angry.
At present, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has a large population of three males and four females of manatees, and "Bill", who is now more than one year old and has been successfully weaned, likes to add a "cow sister" who can play together. It is reported that there is also a mother manatee who will welcome her baby in September, and the popularity of the summer "manatee pavilion" is high, attracting a large number of tourists to visit the rare manatee family.
Broken hundred pounds fat sister
Zhuhai Chimelong officially debuted the first real "Little Mermaid"
It is reported that there are three species of manatees in the world: The Amazon manatee, the West Indian manatee, and the West African manatee, all of which were listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2012, and the West African manatee was listed as a "vulnerable" species. The mammary glands of the female manatee grow at the base of the pectoral fin, which is what humans call the arm socket, and has been beautifully mistaken for a "mermaid" by ancient sailors because the cow holds the cub on the chest for feeding. The West African manatee reaches sexual maturity at the age of 6 and is recognized as a world problem due to its low fertility rate due to its low estrus and 13 months of pregnancy. On May 8 last year, the male manatee baby "Bill" was successfully born in Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, which was the first case in China.
Shortly after little "Bill" celebrated his first birthday and Children's Day with the majority of tourists, the Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Manatee family once again welcomed new members. According to Li Zhanwei, deputy general manager of Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom and marine animal expert, the West African manatee mother "XiXi" is 7 years old this year, and the first real "Little Mermaid" born in Zhuhai Chimelong has many similarities with the birth of "Bill", while creating new miracles and records. "XiXi" is a very great, very maternal "cow" mother, her pregnancy period is longer, more than 14 months, so the baby manatee is also fatter in the mother's body, and the huge body of 32.4 kg at birth increases the difficulty of mother's production, and the birth takes 2 hours. Fortunately, the baby's health is exceptionally healthy, and he can leave the medical platform and officially join the big family in a full moon. The older brother "Bill" has a bold personality and will take the initiative to approach the little sister, but "XiXi" has a strong cub protection behavior, and every time "Bill" or other adult manatees want to get close to the little manatee, she will be driven away.
According to reports, "XiXi" reached the climax of estrus in March last year, frequent mating occurred, and "nose bubbling" often began in April, and the breeder initially judged that it was conceived and included in the scope of key observation. Because "XiXi" has a very sensitive temperament, a stronger sense of self-protection after pregnancy, and even does not allow the nurseryman to come close, it is impossible to complete the B ultrasound examination, until her stomach slowly bulges, which once again proves that the pregnancy test method explored and summarized by the Zhuhai Chimelong conservation team is accurate. In January this year, there was a suspected fetal movement, and by the first 2 months of delivery, "XiXi" had the same "magic of love" behavior as "Bill's" mother. The signs before the production of "XiXi" are the same as those of the production process, with a decrease in appetite 2 days before production, a smaller range of motion, and more frequent swimming in circles. The nursery team immediately entered the 24-hour level 10 alert, ready to "deliver the baby". The nursery team squatted sleeplessly until 11:40 a.m. the next day, when the cubs began to show their tails, and the final birth process was very smooth. Because "XiXi" became a mother for the first time, the birth consumed too much energy, and the baby was flawlessly cared for after childbirth, so the nursery staff took the baby manatee out of the water for the first time to breathe, which is also the key to the successful survival of the manatee baby. After breathing in the fresh air of the "cow", the little manatee returned to the water and quickly learned to swim and breathe under the guidance of its mother.
The whole Zhuhai Chimelong is happy for the newborn and the first "Little Mermaid" in the sense, and this little manatee sister has shown a completely different cuteness and shyness from birth like her brother "Bill", so it is loved by everyone, and it has also opened a new chapter in the conservation and scientific research of this ancient marine animal in the world. "Xi Xi" is more than 4 meters long and weighs nearly 400 kilograms, so that the "little girl" spent 5 hours just to find her mother's nipples for the first time, and the breeder tried to help her in the water, but they were all avoided by the "shy answer", and they worked tirelessly to find it with their small mouth, which was very cute. Now drink milk up to 40-50 times a day, the longest time can drink more than 3 minutes, and the 10th day of birth to "grab" the mother's vegetable leaves to eat, the breeder specially selected the most tender leaves to let it practice the mouth first, under the thousands of pets, the "Little Mermaid" has weighed more than 100 pounds in 50 days of birth.
The fattest cow mother gave birth in September
Zhuhai Chimelong is the world's first to verify the pregnancy test method of two big sea cattle
As the first case of successful breeding of West African manatees in China, the Zhuhai Chimelong conservation team found for the first time that the nose of the manatee mother began to bubble a month after mating, and successfully verified that another West African manatee mother "Guagua" also took over the baton "good pregnancy" and will give birth in September based on the large number of observation data accumulated by "Bill" when she was still in the womb. It is worth mentioning that the two baby manatees that have been born were born in the outer exhibition area, which means that visitors have the opportunity to witness the whole process of the birth of the third "Little Mermaid" of Zhuhai Chimelong.
In addition, the data recording of the whole growth process from the first bite of milk to the first bite of milk weaning at the age of one year old has a very important reference value for the care and rearing of female manatees, which greatly improves the survival rate of rare West African manatees. First of all, the pregnancy of the female manatee can be judged as soon as possible, especially for those who cannot perform B ultrasound pregnancy like "XiXi", and can strengthen observation and protection in time; In addition, timely adjustment of pregnancy recipes, such as the "Guagua" to be delivered after pregnancy appetite is too good, can eat 30kg of food per day, the current weight has exceeded 500kg, becoming the fattest in the manatee restaurant. The childcare team needs to make a strict food schedule for it individually, and carry out a certain diet to ensure the health of the fetus, while avoiding excessive obesity leading to difficulties in childbirth.
It is also crucial for the improvement of the manatee postpartum care and medical platform, the baby manatee should be isolated and cared for in time after birth, and the mother and son should be specially arranged to stay in the wild shoal of the original ecological restoration, which not only allows the mother of the manatee to quietly "confinement", but also allows the baby manatee who cannot breathe freely in deep water to breathe and suck breast milk. In order to ensure that the mother's milk is sufficient, it is necessary to adjust the confinement recipe of the female manatee in time, and add 1kg of papaya per day to help produce milk; After 5 days after childbirth, after the recovery of her appetite, the daily intake is controlled at no less than 20kg, as long as the mother has an appetite, try to feed as much as possible to ensure that there is sufficient energy to bring the cubs.
Thanks to the first-hand experience summary before and after the birth of "Bill", Zhuhai Chimelong realized the world's first discovery of two large cattle pregnancy test method - "nose bubble" pregnancy test method and "circle" pre-delivery method, the current accuracy rate and survival rate are 100%, for the three existing manatees known as "the most little-known manatee" West African manatee breeding, explore the unique successful experience. It is reported that another female manatee in Zhuhai Chimelong is expected to give birth in September. This fully proves that Zhuhai Chimelong has successfully broken through the breeding problem of low fertility of rare West African manatees and will usher in the largest display population of new West African manatees in the country. (Li Xinwen)