Sorry the link didn't work, folks. Here's the story, as published in
Friday's Miami Herald:
<<Published Friday, February 1, 2002
Adoption by manatee baffles, pleases Seaquarium experts
BY ANABELLE de GALE
[log in to unmask] Partially paralyzed from a boating accident, she can't
have calves of her own. But so strong is her maternal instinct that Phoenix
has adopted an orphan. This is a rarity in itself, and the Miami Seaquarium
sea cow has baffled scientists further: She spontaneously began producing
milk. "This is a first," said Seaquarium veterinarian Maya Menchaca. "They
just clicked." Not only is the bond between an abandoned calf and a
childless manatee unusual, this is the only documented case of spontaneous
lactation in a captive sea cow, Menchaca said. "I've never seen anything
like it. This is a mammal that has never had her own calf. Her whole body
skipped pregnancy and giving birth and went straight to lactation," said
Menchaca. Two-year-old Millie -- frost-bitten and near death -- was rescued
off Riviera Beach in January 2000. Soon after, the calf joined a group of
female manatees in a Seaquarium pool. Right away, Phoenix, 10, took to
Millie in a "nanny-like way," Menchaca said. "They never left one another's
side." Seaquarium keepers were first suspicious when they saw Millie under
Phoenix's flipper -- the mammary area. "When I tested a sample, I couldn't
believe it," Menchaca said.Milk. "That's wild," said Jay Marzullo of Boca
Raton, who visited the Seaquarium on Saturday with his family. "I didn't
know that was possible." Snacking on monkey chow and basking in the sun
most of the day, the two sea cows float together atop the viewing tank like
two wet elephants. Snuggling and nursing, they look like a typical
mother-and-daughter manatee family. The 1,710-pound surrogate mom and her
610-pound adopted baby behave -- physiologically and emotionally -- just as
they would have if Phoenix were Millie's birth mother.``Very weird,'' said
John Rathgeb of Fort Lauderdale, a spectator at the Seaquarium on Saturday.
"Impressive," he said. Menchaca said she doesn't know exactly what prompted
the bond or what caused Phoenix to start producing milk, but she's hopeful
it's a sign that this is happening in the wild. Manatees are an endangered
species, and this behavior would improve the survival odds of manatees that
become orphaned. >>
Isn't that cool? I just love mammals :-)
Regina Roig-Lane, BS IBCLC for Miami-Dade County WIC/Nutrition
-----Original Message-----
Regina,
I was unable to access the story. It transferred me
to the Miami Herald newspaper general type page.
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