AMAZONIAN MANATEES (Trichechus inunguis) INHABITING AN EQUATORIAL METROPOLIS: HISTORICAL RECORDS AND MATING ACTIVITY NEAR BELÉM, NORTHERN BRAZIL

Abstract

The West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus Linnaeus, 1758 and the Amazonian manatee T. inunguis (Natterer, 1883) occur in the Marajó Bay area and in the inlets and channels near Belém. The Amazon Aquatic Mammal Study Group (GEMAM) coordinates a collaborative network for trapped and rescued manatees along the coast of the state of Pará and in the interior of Belém. The presence of the Amazonian manatee is confirmed with the rescue and sightings in the great Belém area. The samples of these manatees are housed in collections of institutions such as MPEG and ICMBio, CMA. On October 31st 2021, Amazonian manatees were sighted swimming near a beach in the Mosqueiro district, in greater Belém. Residents and tourists took images that show a mating behavior reported in the literature for Trichechus spp. The waters in this area are turbid and these records are a significant opportunity to understand this behavior. The event may suggest that Amazonian manatees are returning to the Belém area and its surroundings, as well as to the east coast of the state of Pará, possibly due to the synergic effects of SARS-CoV-2, providing areas less disturbed by humans, pandemic and the current climate change scenario, which would be a hope for this endangered species.