Some time ago I was contacted (I was in Ghana) by folks from the U.S. and Jamaica who wanted me to rescue a land locked manatee in Jamaica. Others had tried but had failed. I got together with a group local guys from the Alligator Hole river area and government folks and two veterinarians from Sea World. These manatees were not like manatees I had worked with in Florida, Central America and Puerto Rico. They didn't like people at all and had caves up under the vegetation along the river banks that they would hide in. They also new how to avoid nets by either going around, under or though them. After taking stock of the situation I decided to set a trap for the one I was after using the same method I had used in Africa to catch hippo. The one I was after had been tied by the tail in the middle of the river when it was very young. As it grew the rope broke loose from its' anchor but remained tight around the girls tail. It embedded its' self into the manatee's flesh. When we got her on the beach we removed the rope weighed her (1200 pounds) and took some blood for DNA stuff.
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