| The clinical findings presented were obtained through the rehabilitation and biological and clinical monitoring of captive manatee colonies in Bolivar, Magdalena, Cordoba and Meta states of Colombia, from 1990 to 1996. The objectives of this study were: (1) to document and discuss the veterinarian medical cases more important in manatees during this time, (2) to identify some health factors that threaten species stability. Three cases of successful rehabilitation are described in detail in this document, (lactate orphan, transition orphan and adult animal with an abscess on the pectoral fin). Other clinical cases described are dwarfism in two manatees caused by pesticides, hormonal imbalance and/or nutritional deficiency; and a clinical case of bacteremia, possibly Xanthomonas maltophilia and/or Flavobacterium meningosepticum, in an orphan. |
