The Dating Game

This week, a colleague at the Senegal River Development Authority forwarded photos of a manatee mating herd in the Senegal River near the town of Dagana. Photos of manatees in Africa are rare enough, but to capture images of a mating herd is truly lucky! The following photos here is courtesy of Mr. Van Kutten of SAED.

For those of you not familiar with manatee mating behavior, usually a group of males pursue a female, all attempting to mate with that one female. Groups of up to 10 have been witnessed in Florida. Not surprisingly, the female often tries to escape her suitors, who climb all over her and chase her until they are successful. All of this activity is usually very visible to any nearby human observer because the manatees roll in the water with backs and tails flying. In Africa, unfortunately this can also put manatees at risk for hunting. I know of at least one case where hunters went out and killed manatees in a mating herd, taking advantage of the manatees temporary ambivalence towards humans.

Here is a photo of an amorous male. You can see a tiny glimpse of a female's back under his flipper. 

Reporting from West Africa, EcoHealth Alliance research scientist Lucy Keith is working on an extensive collaborative project to study West African manatees.