Scientists Release Hundreds Of Endangered Seahorses Into The Wild

When we hear the news about endangered animals, it isn’t always positive. That is why it is so good to hear something about endangered species that are gaining ground.

That is what we are hearing about White’s seahorses. According to the Australian Museum, they are found in the waters off the coast of Australia, but in recent years, they have been having some problems.

Photo: Facebook/NSW DPI Fisheries

In fact, they are the only seahorse on the national endangered species list in Australia, according to ABC News.

Recently, however, White’s seahorses got a boost in numbers when hundreds were released in a special effort to repopulate the species.

As ABC News reported, the seahorses were released into special cages, which the scientists are calling hotels. The cage is large enough to hold larger fish and other sea creatures but it has been adapted for White’s seahorses.

Photo: Facebook/NSW DPI Fisheries

In the cage, they will find plenty of out-of-the-way places to hang out and hide. Those nooks and crannies also provide a place for their favorite types of food to hide as well.

The seahorse release project was conducted with help from the Sydney Aquarium along with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The number of White’s seahorses in the waters around Australia has been dropping for a number of years. Boat moorings and coastal development have both led to a drop in numbers.

Photo: Facebook/NSW DPI Fisheries

Thanks to a breeding program at the Sydney Aquarium, the reintroduction of White’s seahorses into the wild has been successful. Seahorse eggs are raised in a belly pouch by the father and, after they hatch, they are gathered into bags of seawater.

Once they have the young seahorses, they are taken to the hotels and lowered into the water.

This has been going on for a while but recently, 350 baby seahorses were released at the same time. A DPI boat was used for the event and scientist Dr. David Harasti was there to witness it, according to ABC News.

A video of the release was taken and conservationists are happy that such a large amount of White’s seahorses were back in the wild again.

Dr. Harasti is looking forward to returning in a couple of weeks to see how the seahorses are doing.

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