The Manatee Pool was temporarily closed, but has reopened to the public. Visitors are now able to see the baby manatee that was born on June 16th, 2021.

Reopening of the facility / Date of public viewing

  15.Oct.2021～　

《NOTE》
　※Admission restrictions may be applied depending on the situation.
    ※To reduce stress on the mother and calf, viewing will take place from the basement.
    ※Manatees are sensitive to sound and light, therefore we kindly ask for visitors to remain quiet while
       viewing the mother and calf.
   　 We ask for visitors not to use any flash when taking photos.

The baby manatee’s progress

This baby manatee was born on June 16th, 2021. It is Maya’s second calf. Three days after birth, the baby manatee began to suckle from its mother, and all seemed well. However, 3 weeks after its birth the mother’s milk yield suddenly decreased and the aquarium staff began handfeeding the baby manatee. Whilst being handfed, the baby manatee was temporarily moved to a separate rearing pool. When not feeding, we arranged for the baby manatee to spend as much time as possible with its mother. Currently, the baby manatee is growing well and has begun to feed on the normal diet of vegetables. We will continue feeding milk to the baby manatee until it is ready to be weaned.

≪American manatee≫

West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) The manatee is a herbivorous mammal that inhabits rivers, lakes, and ocean in the Atlantic region. It is a rare species classified as CITES Appendix I (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The first successful breeding in Japan took place at our aquarium in 1990. The second birth in Japan was Yuma in 2001. This is the third successful captive birth of a manatee in Japan. (All 3 cases took place at this facility.) In 1997, the Mexican government gave Maya, the mother manatee, and Ryu, the father manatee, to this facility.

This is a unique opportunity to see a cute little baby manatee! We hope you come and visit us.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium will report the process of the successful birth in scientific journals, and will continue to contribute to the conservation of manatees in the wild through breeding and studying the manatees.

〇You can see the baby manatee’s growth on Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium’s official YouTube channel, Facebook, and Instagram.