Development & Aid, Environment, Tierramerica

Mermaids

Jun 30 2002 (IPS) - The manatee and the dugong are strange-looking sea animals belonging to the same natural order: sirenids. They have existed on Earth for millions of years, but their future is quite gloomy.

These mammals are adapted to the aquatic ecosystem, where they spend their entire lives because they are incapable of movement on land. According to information found on the Internet, their earliest ancestors date back 60 million years.

Although their likeness to the mermaids of myth may seem unlikely, it is true that ancient seafarers confused them with mermaids when they first saw these unique beasts. The website Discovering the Mermaid cites a passage from Christopher Columbus's travel log in 1493, when he wrote that he had seen three mermaids that were not as beautiful as stories claimed, but did have somewhat of a human face.

Sirenids are sea mammals with corpulent bodies. Four species have been identified: the West African manatee, the Amazon manatee, the Caribbean manatee and the dugong. There was another, known as the Steller sea cow, but hunters exterminated the species.

Threats to this family of “mermaids” arise mostly from the loss or deterioration of their natural habitat as a result of human activities. The problems range from poor water quality to illegal hunting. International treaties protect all sirenids.

A quick look at the Internet shows that there is worldwide concern about the future of these animals, evident in the existence of organizations like Savethemanatee.org and Sirenian.org.

This year, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched a global alert to protect the dugong.