Featured Image Credit: Britini LaVine via. Fox 13
Earlier this month, a momma manatee and her two twin babies were spotted in Florida. The trio is an extremely rare sight in the wild.
Typically, manatees only give birth to one calf. The reason is that mother’s only have a limited number of available resources and focusing all of their attention and effort into one offspring is a more effective way to reproduce. The birth of two calves is rare, but exciting. That indicates that the mother may have enough resources to support two young calves.
The trio was spotted in Bayboro Harbor in St Petersburg, Florida. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute this trio is a “rare sight.” FWC tried to share some insight as to why it is rare on their Facebook page, but apparently there is not much data on the survival rate of twin calves in the wild.
Everyone is hoping that these two calves will be able to be supported by their mother. For now, FWC will keep a close eye on these animals.
Manatees are rebounding across their entire range, but protections are still in place to protect the delicate population.
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