The African manatee is an elusive marine mammal inhabiting the Atlantic coastal waters of 21 African countries from Mauritania to Angola and whose population is unknown. Cameroon's foremost manatee expert, Dr Aristide Kamla, had never heard of what's considered the elephant's closest relative when he started university; he couldn't swim and he wanted to be a doctor. In this episode, Kate Humble and Edward Whitley hear from the Fulbright scholar about how local fishing communities became Aristide's teachers in how to find the mysterious species which is now his life's passion. And in a masterclass in how to restore harmony between people and wildlife, he persuaded them to become chief advocates for the manatee; from fighting invasive species with him on Lake Ossa to recording thousands of sightings of marine species on Siren, Aristide's citizen science app which is rapidly expanding across Africa.

See Aristide’s short film narrated by Sir David Attenborough here: https://bit.ly/AfricanManatees

Edited and produced by Sarah Treanor

How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. Applications for the Whitley Awards are open! If you are leading a grassroots conservation project in the Global South that we should know about, please apply here: bit.ly/WhitleyAward_ApplyNow

Click here to donate: bit.ly/WhitleyAwards_Donate

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.