Save the Manati Foundation
This site is aimed to explain and communicate
the Foundation’s activities, and to make available
those documents produced by us. Most of these documents
are written in Spanish, though there are some reports and
papers written in English. Because most relevant literature
about manatees is only available in English, we believe
that this site will help to communicate scientific and conservation
data regarding manatees to Spanish speaking people living
in manatee areas.
Our mission is to promote the conservation
of manatees and their habitat (i.e. wetlands and lowland
rainforests) in Costa Rica and neighboring countries. To
carry out this mission we implement activities within the
following working lines :
The Fundación Salvemos al Manatí
de Costa Rica was originally created in 1996 by a group
of Costa Ricans interested in research and conservation
of this aquatic mammal. The Foundation’s origins come
from the community of Tortuguero, which gives name to one
of Costa Rica’s best-known national parks. Tortuguero
serves as an excellent example of a remote community whose
standard of living has improved dramatically with the establishment
of a neighboring protected area. Nowadays, ecotourism has
become the main source of income for local people. Such
tourism has been traditionally focused towards green turtle
nesting on the Tortuguero National park’s beaches.
Due to the attractiveness of such turtle nesting, the attention
of most tourists and park managers has been centered on
local beaches, forgetting those biologically rich freshwater
wetlands and lowland rainforest that define local landscape.
Fernando and Lily Figuls, as owners of a small hotel within
the community and main promoters of the Foundation, identified
this lack of attention towards local wetlands and rainforests,
and especially towards one of their most charismatic species
: the West Indian manatee.
Tortugero National Park, Costa Rica
In 1996 two research teams — one
coming from Berkeley and another from Costa Rica’s
Universidad Nacional — started two simultaneous studies
aimed to assess the conservation status of the West Indian
manatee in Northeastern Costa Rica. Until then, there were
only popular rumors about the species’ existence,
while manatees where considered as extinct in Costa Rican
scientific circles. Those two studies were the first research
activities supported by our Foundation. Through them, we
discovered that there is still a viable manatee population
in Costa Rica, with Tortuguero National Park and its environs
serving as its main stronghold.
In 2000 the field biologists related to the Universidad
Nacional who had been previously doing manatee research
in Costa Rica and neighboring Nicaragua joined the Foundation.
Nowadays, the Fundación Salvemos al Manatí
de Costa Rica is made up of local leaders, business people
and scientists.
Contact
SAVE THE MANATI FOUNDATION
Apartado de correo 245
3015 San Rafael de Heredia
Costa Rica
WEB: www.fundacionmanati.org
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