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Puerto Rico Cruise Day 4
Close Encounter with a Local Legend
It’s murky. The kind of murky where the Jaws soundtrack starts playing in your head. You feel something bump into your leg. You try not to panic because your colleagues back on the boat will all laugh at you. Then a gentle nudging in your middle. There’s nowhere to run because your feet have sunk into the mud and the mangrove roots above your head would snap under your weight. The water begins to boil in front of you. You wish you’d eaten that second brownie after dinner because in a second it won’t matter. As you close your eyes and prepare for the worst, you hear what sounds like a muffled sneeze. Already you are laughing inside. This is no man–eater. You open your eyes and find yourself staring into the warm, affectionate gaze of Moises the manatee.
Yes, today four members of the fish and habitat survey team had the pleasure of meeting this Puerto Rican hometown hero. As each of us entered the water, we were greeted in turn by Moises with his version of an underwater head–butt. As we snorkeled around, trying to find a good spot to work, Moises followed one fin–kick behind, seemingly wondering why he wasn’t given a clipboard and pencil for taking notes.
Moises is a legend in his own time here in Puerto Rico. Moises was found by some fishermen near San Juan in November 1991 when he was only two weeks old. Moises was nursed back to health under the care of the Caribbean Stranding Network in Lajas, Puerto Rico for over two years before being transferred to a fenced–in area in the waters within the Naval Station Roosevelt Roads where he was allowed to acclimate before being completely freed on August 22, 1994.
Moises, which is Spanish for Moses, is the first captive–reared manatee to be released successfully into the wild. Moises will be 15 years old this year. He remains healthy and continues to interact with other manatees. He remains loyal to the east coast of Puerto Rico where he can be found regularly amongst the mangroves and seagrass. And as we found out today, he is a welcoming host.
compare notes while Moises nudges them underwater.
(Photo by Mike Judge)
Many thanks to fish counter, Mike Judge, for capturing some great footage of our encounter with Moises.
Photo: Amy V. Uhrin