Tico, a runaway manatee, has been caught recently after a desperate search by the international team who gave him his name. The experts had feared for the manatee's safety after starting a different journey, taking him to the wild from the Brazilian waters, which are more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away.
The operation transcended into multiple countries in Latin America, sending the rescuers into rushing planes, cars, and boats, racing against time to save the manatee's life. The rescue ended Monday when Tico was finally rescued off La Blanquilla Island in Venezuela.
According to BBC, Venezuela's Environment Ministry veterinarians have managed to trace Tico using a Global Positioning System (GPS) and catch up with the mammal.
The manatee is not new when it comes to rescue operations. He was also rescued in October 2014. Tico, just a newborn, was found stranded in northeastern Brazil, at Praia das Agulhas, in the State of Ceara at the time. He was taken by the Brazilian conservation NGO Aquasis.
Finding The Way Into The Wild
After seven rehabilitation years, his latest adventure started on July 6 when Tico was released into wild waters off Icapui, northeast Brazil. A few days after the manatee entered the deeper waters, his previous rescuers feared for his survival.
These marine mammals' main food sources are plants found in shallow waters, and when Tico was swimming further into the ocean, the rescuers decided he should be saved.
But Tico just kept swimming and taking off, and he moved at a quick pace. He blew through five states in Brazil, heading north, leaving the rescuers chasing after his tail where a location transmitter was attached.
The Aquasis team had received a close signal from the transmitter, and it was near the surface of the coastal area of Tobago-a southern Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, in late August.
Since the location notification was tracked from a different timezone and thousand miles, one of the rescuers, Camila Carvalho, thought that Tico was dead and they would find the remains of the tracking equipment.
Carvalho started communicating with the locals from Trinidad & Tobago to figure out if Tico was dead or alive. A local fisherman stood up and helped them find proof that Tico was well.
The local fisherman had to spend 4 hours searching for the GPS attached to the mammal. He used his phone and recorded a video which later gave hope to the Brazilian rescuers that Tico, the manatee, was alive.
Manatee an aquatic mammal considered as endangered species.
Checking Tico's Condition
The relief suddenly changed to fear when they found out that Tico was swimming close to the border of the wall of Scarborough Port, southern shore, Doctor Reia Guppy said.
The shore was full of ferry docks that would dock at any time. That's the possible problem explained by the marine sciences department assistant professor of Trinidad and Tobago University.
With the aid of a fishing vessel, Doctor Guppy's team was able to move Tico from the danger zone. She resembles the chase as a film scene, as Tico runs every time they rescue him.
Tico's Second Rescue
The manatee was taken into a private sanctuary for aquatic animals on Margarita Island in Venezuela, where he was being treated after the long rescue.
Carvalho and Aquasis are preparing for Tico's return from Venezuela to Brazil. The marine herbivores were classified as endangered in Brazil and listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Coastal mangroves are the primary labor ground of the manatee, but due to the development of coastal trips, the mangroves are triggered to thrive, which leaves no choice for the manatees but to give birth in deeper waters.
Aside from saving these mammals, Aquasis also campaigns for the conservation of the habitat of the aquatic mammal.
RELATED ARTICLE: Manatee Deaths Spiked to 500 This Year Resulting in Declining Population; What's Causing the Mysterious Fatalities?
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