The Calf We Waited For

For the past several months, one of the questions I heard probably more than any other on the Silver River was, “Has Divine had her baby yet?”

Every week she seemed a little bigger. Every time someone spotted her, there was another picture, another update and another guess about when it might happen.

Those of us who spend a lot of time on the river were waiting too.

Divine is a manatee I have known for years. She was the first manatee I ever had the opportunity to see in the wild, long before I knew just how much time I would eventually spend on the Silver River. Over the years I have watched her for hundreds of hours, learned her scars and markings and watched her raise calves before.

So this pregnancy felt like a story we had all been following for a long time.

Then the news we had been waiting for finally came.

On Saturday, August 1, Divine gave birth.

Her new calf was a tiny little male.

Unfortunately, it did not take long before there were reasons to be concerned. Friends who were on the river that day told me that he was extremely small. He struggled at times against the current and, during the hours he was observed, no one saw him successfully nursing.

I was not able to be on the river that weekend because of some health issues of my own. As much as I wanted to see Divine and her new calf, I had to rely on friends who kept me updated throughout the day.

By the following morning, the news had changed.

The little calf had not survived.

I knew from what I had been told the day before that the odds probably were not in his favor. Knowing that did not make hearing it any easier.

When you spend enough time around wildlife, you become attached.

I think that is something we sometimes forget about people who spend years watching particular wild animals.

You recognize them. You learn their habits. You remember their offspring. You notice when something is different. You become excited for them, worried about them and, whether you intend to or not, attached to them.

But they are still wild animals living wild lives.

And sometimes those lives do not have the ending we hoped for.

A few days later, the uncertainty was over.

For several days there were still questions about what had happened and where the little calf was. On Wednesday, his body was located and recovered from the river. He measured just 3 feet 3 inches long and was confirmed to be a male.

As sad as that discovery was, at least the uncertainty was over.

There is not really a lesson I can wrap neatly around this one.

I am disappointed. I am sad for the little manatee that so many people waited months to meet. I am also grateful that, for however short his life was, he was here.

Caring about wildlife means accepting all of it.

We celebrate the births. We laugh at the funny moments. We photograph the beautiful ones. We worry when something does not seem right. And sometimes we have to accept loss too.

Nature can be incredibly beautiful, but it is not always easy to watch.

Divine is still Divine. She is still swimming the same river she did before Saturday, and from everything I have observed, she appears to be doing well.

I will continue to enjoy seeing her just as I have for years.

I just wish this particular chapter of her story had lasted a little longer.