Meet manatees Gregory and Jennifer.

Originally victims of the illegal pet trade, the two were finally released back into the Amazon river in April. After ten years with Rainforest Awareness Rescue Education Center - RAREC, including four years of dedicated rewilding, the operation to return them to the wild was a challenging one, involving a crane, a custom-built water pool and an eight hour boat ride!

It was great to be able to facilitate the participation of Dr Gemma Campling of Worldwide Vets who provided veterinary expertise and training on the ground during their careful capture, transfer and release.

Gemma writes: “With only 10,000 of these gentle creatures left in the wild, the IUCN lists them as Endangered. Increasing the gene pool with a breeding pair brings great value to the wild population and we believe they deserve the wild and free life they were born to lead. After release they will both be monitored and tracked as part of ongoing research. A life of total freedom awaits these two very special animals.”

Keep following us to learn more about their extraordinary journey to freedom.

Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with all our projects to get veterinary expertise to the conservation frontline: https://bit.ly/2NC5VvW

‍

Photo credit: Rainforest Awareness Rescue & Education Center - RAREC

#WildlifeVets

#TrainingVets #RegulatingDisease #SavingSpecies

#manatee #rescueandrelease #iquitos #peru #amazonrainforest  #amazon #rehabilitation #release #savethemanatees

‍