Abstract

Basic husbandry procedures and physiological assessment of manatees typically have been limited by the difficulty of restraining these large animals and the risk of injury to subjects and personnel. To address this problem, two male Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were trained for seven tasks: swimming onto a stretcher; stationing for body measurements; voluntary presentation of flippers for venipunctures (medical and lateral); providing urine samples; submitting to rectal measurement of core temperatures; positioning for ultrasound assessment of blubber thickness; and measuring respiration volume and flow rate. Subjects were trained to perform these tasks using standard conditioning procedures, which eliminated the need to drop water levels or to restrain subjects. The ability to meet these training objectives increased health assessment opportunitites, improved the level of health care, furthered collection of baseline biological data, and facilitated physiological research.