José Javier Delgado Esteban

Photographer
Song to the Siren
Location: Spain
Nationality: Spanish
Biography: I am a multi award-winning visual artist, photographer and new media developer. Throughout my early professional life in Spain I developed a strong interest in all aspects of photography, moving image, environmental, space sciences and natural... MORE
Public Story
Song to the Siren
Copyright José Javier Delgado Esteban 2024
Updated Feb 2016
Topics Black and White, Environment, Environmental, Photography, Underwater
One of our current projects for 2016: "Song to the Siren" a series of images of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Manatees comprise three of the four living species in the order Sirenia. The fourth is the Eastern Hemisphere's Dugong. The Sirenia are thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals over 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the elephants.

Manatees have a large, flexible, prehensile upper lip. They use the lip to gather food and eat, as well as using it for social interactions and communications. Its tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs; a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to a that of a whale. Females have two teats, one under each flipper a characteristic that was used to make early links between the manatee and elephants.

Unfortunately, as with many other species, The main causes of death for manatees are human-related issues, such as habitat destruction and human objects. Natural causes of death include adverse temperatures and disease.

Manatees were traditionally hunted by indigenous Caribbean people. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the region, hunting was already an established trade, although this is less common today. From manatee hides, Native Americans made war shields, canoes, and shoes, though manatees were predominantly hunted for their abundant meat.


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Song to the Siren by José Javier Delgado Esteban
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