The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi partnership

Teaming up with the National Aquarium, The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund supports the African Aquatic Conservation Agency in its mission to safeguard African manatees in their natural habitats.

Proceeds from The National Aquarium will be facilitated by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund to support the African Aquatic Conservation Fund.  Initial funds will contribute towards:

• Research and conservation efforts for African manatees in Senegal and Guinea, including. threat assessments, population genetics, acoustics, feeding ecology, physiology, and other relevant studies aimed at protecting the species.
• This initiative will provide support for a minimum of 10 researchers.
• Funding will also be allocated to African graduate students conducting research on African manatees, covering expenses such as fieldwork data collection, laboratory analyses, tuition fees (if applicable), and travel to present their findings at conferences.
• Priority will be given to students from Senegal, Guinea, and Cameroon, with at least four graduate students expected to receive support for their studies at universities.

Partnerships like these are crucial in our mission to safeguard biodiversity and preserve ecosystems. By pooling resources, knowledge, and efforts, communities can address the complex challenges facing our natural world. This collaboration serves as a shining example of companies coming together to support species conservation in their natural habitats.

Lucy Keith-Diagne from the African Aquatic Conservation Fund

African manatee research and conservation in Senegal focuses on identifying and reducing threats from poaching, fisheries bycatch, dams, and habitat destruction, rescues of injured or orphaned manatees, studying the habitat use, diet, and genetics of the coastal and Senegal River populations, sampling of dead manatees to increase knowledge of health and physiology of the species, as well as training for African researchers and educational outreach programs throughout the country to teach people the importance of protecting manatees. There is so little known about African manatees that all our work is breaking new ground to better understand this rare and elusive species and the wide range of habitats it needs to thrive.

“Research and conservation of African manatees is essential, not only to better understand this shy species itself, but for its importance as an indicator of the health of both marine and freshwater systems throughout the western side of the African continent”

Paul Hamilton from the National Aquarium

Emphasized the significance of the institution’s research efforts in understanding and conserving African manatees. He highlighted the dedicated team of specialists and researchers who have been studying the behavior and ecology of these remarkable creatures. The insights gleaned from this research will play a crucial role in developing effective conservation strategies to safeguard the future of African manatees in their natural habitats.

AACF African Manatees Project Updates

Announcement of partnership

03/04/2024

The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi has warmly embraced two African Manatees into their new home, to become the first ambassadors for their species in the region. African Manatee are extremely rare with only a few facilities in the world displaying them, The Manatees at the National Aquarium are considered the closest to their home in Africa.

Read the full article HERE

Click each thumbnail to enlarge and read the captions

Transporting two manatees from Seoul

27/05/2024

Two recently relocated African manatees have settled remarkably well into their new home at the National Aquarium, Abu Dhabi after being transferred from Seoul. These manatees are extremely rare, and this pair is the closest in distance to their native West Africa.

The Aquarium provides a sanctuary that closely mimics the manatees’ natural habitat, prioritizing their health and well-being, while offering researchers the opportunity to observe manatee behaviour and ecology to develop future conservation strategies for their wild counterparts.

Learnings from the manatees at the Aquarium provide our conservation partner, the African Aquatic Conservation Fund, with better information to safeguard these little-known and poorly studied aquatic species in their natural habitats through research, conservation, and educational outreach efforts.

Conservation work in Africa has started

12/06/2024

Conservation in Africa has kicked off with the African Manatee Conservation Project, an exciting collaboration between the Fund, The National Aquarium, Abu Dhabi, and the African Aquatic Conservation Fund (AACF).

AACF is recruiting African graduate students to study manatee threats, population genetics, and feeding ecology in the first year. This summer, they are planning fieldwork at the Koulountou River in southern Senegal, where manatees were recently discovered on the Guinea side of the river. It’s vital to understand how many manatees are using the river, whether it’s a seasonal or year-round habitat, and what threats they might face. Since African manatees have primarily been studied along the coasts, this research aims to uncover more about manatees living hundreds of kilometres inland. Research conducted by the National Aquarium supports the AACF in their long-term conservation efforts.

This research is essential for understanding the threats manatees face and developing strategies to protect them. Outstanding partnerships like these promise a bright future for African manatees.

Read the full article HERE 

Click each thumbnail to enlarge and read the captions