Feature

Will the spirit of the West African Manatee live on?

Melford Ita

Despite legal protection in countries where manatees are found, the West
African manatee is hunted throughout its range due to a lack of awareness
coupled with little or no enforcement. Meanwhile, illegal hunting continues
to pose a thorn in the flesh of conservationists. Melford Ita, reports.

Mermaid or manatee?

Uncertain future for West African manatee. Photo © BLTC Research.

"Mami Water" (mermaid) spirits are remarkable indigenous/religious practices
found in various regions along the western coast of Africa. In many
riverside and coastal communities, "Mami Water" is a central character
considered a source of absolute beauty and wealth, generous and extremely jealous. In as much as a few people are said to have known "Mami Water" down to a watery grave, there are numerous folk stories and songs about persons who upon acquiescing to marry the mermaid their dreadful fortunes took a turn for the better. Equally, there are folk stories and songs spelling endless afflictions for those who in matrimony to the mermaid betrayed her love. Among many anglers of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, "Mami Water" is revered and hardly spoken about openly without certain rituals. Sir Victor Uwaifo, a notable Nigerian musician produced a song in her tribute; it turned out to be a hit and over a million or more copies sold.

Imagine that form follows function; a rational view for dispelling the "Mami
Water" myth surrounding the West African manatee begins to develop.
Undoubtedly, manatees are mammals; they have lungs hence need to take in air. Dr. Mamaa Entsua-Mensah, a research fellow at the Centre for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) opines that when the West African
manatee is observed at night - by an amateur - inhaling deep breathes of
fresh air it bears close semblance to a woman. 

Arguably, to the eyes of an amateur, breasts with nipples are the likely misleading attributes. Besides, seen under moonlight conditions, the scaly body of the manatee creates an illusion of half fish and half woman, Mensah added. Succinctly, with no scientific evidence of such a combination to date, scientists at the Institute of Aquatic Biology, the CSIR, and the Ghana Wildlife Department subscribe to "Mami Water" to be no more than the West African manatee.

Manatee under threat

One of Nigeria's leading environmental organisations, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) aims to safeguard nature in harmony with people and their livelihoods. At the helm of the NCF is Executive Director, Professor Emmanuel A. Obot - an unassuming scholar - who disclosed that as part of the Niger Basin initiative the status of manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) populations in the River Niger and River Benue were surveyed. Manatees - belonging to the scientific order Sirenia - have been around for 45 to 50 million years. 

With a gestation period of approximately 13 months and a uterus cycle of 3 years, they are considered slow breeders. A calf is born every 2 to 5 years and can measure anywhere from 90 to 120 cm in length at birth. There is evidence of bonding between mother and calf; dependency on mother may last up to two years. The name manatee comes from the Haitian word manáti, meaning breasts.

Also known as "sea cows", manatees are plant-eating herbivores. For
sustenance, they depend largely on overhanging vegetation but a few
populations in estuaries feed solely on mangroves. Three species of manatee exist; the Amazonian, the West Indian, and the West African - found from Angola to Senegal. Unfortunately, in the wake of habitat degradation, incidental captures in fishing nets, and illegal hunting, the West African manatee is the most threatened. 

In some agricultural and fishing communities, manatees have been viewed as pests - said to have consumed rice, other crops, and small fish caught in gillnets. In turn, desperate farmers and anglers overreacted and killed manatees. Alluding to manatees toppling boats, Professor Obot is inclined to think that the poor creatures are gentle by nature, almost tame in the wild. Moreover, they openly approach boats - exposing themselves to danger, he added. Subsequently, in terms of manatees toppling boats one could conceivably deduce that poachers or hunters posing as anglers may have stressed the animals. 

In a survey, a component of the Niger Basin initiative, undertaken by the
NCF in 2002, respondents acknowledged that between manatee populations were sited between 1998 and 2002. Manatees dwell in fresh or saline tropical waters.

Along the River Niger, and River Benue in Nigeria, manatees were seen
regularly in freshwaters around Warri, and Kainji - particularly during the
early rainy season. However, when respondents - anglers, farmers, and
hunters - at various districts were asked, "Do you know manatee is a
protected species in your country", many lacked the necessary awareness.
Poignantly, despite legal protection in countries where manatees are found,
the West African manatee is hunted throughout its range due to a lack of
awareness coupled with little or no enforcement.

Can legal measures work to protect the manatee?

The Nigerian government took a positive step by enacting Federal, and State law to protect manatee populations. Equally, by permitting a quota of up to two kills annually for cultural festivals, the government proved amenable to longstanding traditions of indigenes in underlying communities with manatee populations. Regrettably, the high commercial value associated with manatee meat, as well as the wide-ranging use of its body parts for traditional medicines seems to supersede fear of arrest or punishment. Meanwhile, illegal hunting continues to pose a thorn in the flesh of conservationists.

Alluding to conflicting interests between cultural and legal protection of
wildlife, Obot rightly pointed out that for generations the many indigenous
cultures in Nigeria have been practising conservation. Today, in the face
of human population growth and development, most national parks and wetlands worldwide are placing more emphasis on community relations, support zone programmes and awareness campaigns, Obot added.

Is the African environment sufficiently responsive to conservation
strategies? Besides, there is compelling evidence in the failures of
protectionist approaches in conservation compared to participatory ways of
working, which link the aspirations and views of indigenous people with
conservationists. With an increasing appreciation of the role that
indigenous people can play in managing their environment if given the
opportunity, the approach to conservation is changing.

More information:

The author acknowledges Professor E. A. Obot, Executive Director (NCF) and Dr. Onyebuchi Onyegbule (NCF), the Pan African News Agency, and Rosalind Hackett. The NCF Lekki conservation centre is located at Km 19 along the Lagos-Epe expressway (opposite Chevron). It is open to the public daily - entry is free.

Science in Africa - Africa's First On-Line Science Magazine

Copyright  2002, Science in Africa, Science magazine for Africa CC. All Rights Reserved

Terms and Conditions