They went back to swimming at sea, to explore Becading treasures without borders and then the Mediterranean. More than 100 marine horses they met freedom for the first time In the waters of the “Mar Piccolo” regional natural park in Taranto. And they are not the last in this protected marine area.
To make it possible a conservation project of this iconic animal. The protagonist is the species Hippocampus Gutulatus, Also known as “Cavalluccio with a long muzzle”. This seahorse was distributed widely in the Piccolo Mar of Taranto, where there was one of the largest populations known to scholars.
Since 2016, unfortunately, there has been a terrible decline in the natural park. The overall density of the groups present here of Hippocampus Gutulatus has decreased around 90%. Responsible are several factors of anthropic origin such as fishing, illegal trafficking in Mediterranean fauna towards China, the loss of habitat.
The strong of marine cavallucci recorded In the Piccolo Mar of Taranto, he made an answer from the scientific community essential. So what to do to save the population of marine horse with a long muzzle?
Discussions and possible protection strategies have taken shape in a concrete intervention for the safeguarding of marine horses. So it was thought to withdraw some couples of adult individuals of Hippocampus Gutulatus Coming from the Piccolo di Taranto and to reproduce them in a controlled environment, under supervision by specialized personnel.
Once they became subacultural, the new marine cavallucci have been freed at sea. The photographs taken before the release will allow you to monitor and entrust animals over time to evaluate the effectiveness of the project.
In the spring of 2024, already 160 specimens of about 6-7 meters of age returned to the Mar Piccolo di Taranto. Recently, a second phase has affected another 100 marine horses. Since the beginning of the project, therefore, the Piccolo di Taranto has welcomed over 250 small new guests. The conservation actions see the collaboration of the Municipality of Taranto, the National Research Council, the University of Bari and the Genoa Aquarium.
