Cameroonian researcher dedicates to conserving endangered African manatees
Date
12/24/2024 7:02:55 AM
(MENAFN) Since his first encounters of African manatees, award-winning marine researcher Aristide Takoukam Kamla has been dedicated to conserving these little-known and endangered aquatic species.
African manatees can be found in fresh water throughout western Africa's coast, such as Cameroon's massive Lake Ossa, where the researcher first observed them more than ten years ago.
However, they are shy creatures; spotting them necessitates leaving before dawn when the lake is glassy and quiet, all the better for tracing the trails of bubbles and, perhaps, catching two large nostrils taking a short breath.
"I was expecting to see them like on YouTube: in clear water, jumping like dolphins... a completely surreal idea" taken from publications on manatees in Florida, the 39-year-old Cameroonian recalled, smiling.
Their African counterparts, on the other hand, are considerably different, and the then-University of Dschang apprentice researcher had to row for a long time before receiving his prize.
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