269
be found west of Paramaribo and the Suriname river, in upperwaters of the
Commewijne river, and affluents of Suriname river, and in the Nanni swamp, next
to the Guyana border. In 1971, he captured 11 manatees at the mouth of large rivers,
as Nanni. An interesting fact is that he described that some animals were imprisoned
in the drainage canals of plantations, indicating the probable use of the species to
control aquatic vegetation. Also in 1978, Duplaix and Reichart compiled information on the species in Suriname in a US Fish and Wildlife Service research report.
A few manatee records in Suriname are reported in articles, book chapters or
project reports dedicated to other species, or to a specific area. Mohadin (1993)
reported the occurrence of manatees in the Cusewijne river, in the Boven-Cusewijne
(or Bove-Coesewijne) Nature Reserve. Duplaix et al. (2001) indicated that T. manatus was hunted to extinction in the area, but still occurred in Nanni Creek and Nanni
lake, in the northwestern portion of the country.
In 2012, Pool indicated that in Suriname, four major rivers flow to Atlantic
Ocean: Marowijne, Suriname, Coppename and Corantijn, and the estuaries formed
by these rivers with contributing rivers are the prime habitat of manatees in the
country. As in Guyana, the species was not observed in coastal waters of Suriname.
The author indicated the lack of appropriate habitat or insufficient research in the
area.
11.2.5 French Guiana
According to Bertram and Bertram (1962, 1963), there was little suitable habitat for
manatees farther eastern from Suriname, where “the coastal plain disappears and
the mountains come down to the sea”. After this, information on manatee in French
Guiana came only from Whitehead (1977), who indicated that the species was
rarely found to the south of Cayenne. Best and Teixeira (1982) interviewed a manatee hunter in Amapá, a Brazilian state at the border with French Guiana, and reported
the presence of the species in rivers Approuague, Mahury, Laughan and Ouanary, as
well in some of the smaller rivers in eastern portion of the country.
Only in the twenty-first century, robust studies on manatees started in the country. De Thoisy et al. (2003) conducted interviews and boat surveys in 12 cities and
villages along the coast and large river mouths, including fishermen on the Brazilian
side of the Oiapoque river, in Amapá state. The results indicated that the species is
still present all along French Guiana coast and in most estuaries.
In larger rivers, as Oiapoque, Approuague and Maroni, manatee sightings were
reported up to 80 km upriver. Also, the presence of the species was recorded in the
rocky coastal areas and around an offshore island 5 km from the continent. The
Coswine, a large estuarine mangrove area in the northwestern portion of the country
(border with Suriname) was identified as an important habitat for manatees, with the
greatest number of sightings. Spiegelberger and Ganslosser (2012) studied the habitat and feeding banks of the species in this estuary, indicating that the area is able to
11 West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus in South America…
be found west of Paramaribo and the Suriname river, in upperwaters of the
Commewijne river, and affluents of Suriname river, and in the Nanni swamp, next
to the Guyana border. In 1971, he captured 11 manatees at the mouth of large rivers,
as Nanni. An interesting fact is that he described that some animals were imprisoned
in the drainage canals of plantations, indicating the probable use of the species to
control aquatic vegetation. Also in 1978, Duplaix and Reichart compiled information on the species in Suriname in a US Fish and Wildlife Service research report.
A few manatee records in Suriname are reported in articles, book chapters or
project reports dedicated to other species, or to a specific area. Mohadin (1993)
reported the occurrence of manatees in the Cusewijne river, in the Boven-Cusewijne
(or Bove-Coesewijne) Nature Reserve. Duplaix et al. (2001) indicated that T. manatus was hunted to extinction in the area, but still occurred in Nanni Creek and Nanni
lake, in the northwestern portion of the country.
In 2012, Pool indicated that in Suriname, four major rivers flow to Atlantic
Ocean: Marowijne, Suriname, Coppename and Corantijn, and the estuaries formed
by these rivers with contributing rivers are the prime habitat of manatees in the
country. As in Guyana, the species was not observed in coastal waters of Suriname.
The author indicated the lack of appropriate habitat or insufficient research in the
area.
11.2.5 French Guiana
According to Bertram and Bertram (1962, 1963), there was little suitable habitat for
manatees farther eastern from Suriname, where “the coastal plain disappears and
the mountains come down to the sea”. After this, information on manatee in French
Guiana came only from Whitehead (1977), who indicated that the species was
rarely found to the south of Cayenne. Best and Teixeira (1982) interviewed a manatee hunter in Amapá, a Brazilian state at the border with French Guiana, and reported
the presence of the species in rivers Approuague, Mahury, Laughan and Ouanary, as
well in some of the smaller rivers in eastern portion of the country.
Only in the twenty-first century, robust studies on manatees started in the country. De Thoisy et al. (2003) conducted interviews and boat surveys in 12 cities and
villages along the coast and large river mouths, including fishermen on the Brazilian
side of the Oiapoque river, in Amapá state. The results indicated that the species is
still present all along French Guiana coast and in most estuaries.
In larger rivers, as Oiapoque, Approuague and Maroni, manatee sightings were
reported up to 80 km upriver. Also, the presence of the species was recorded in the
rocky coastal areas and around an offshore island 5 km from the continent. The
Coswine, a large estuarine mangrove area in the northwestern portion of the country
(border with Suriname) was identified as an important habitat for manatees, with the
greatest number of sightings. Spiegelberger and Ganslosser (2012) studied the habitat and feeding banks of the species in this estuary, indicating that the area is able to
11 West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus in South America…