Dr. Mariel Buccat-Flores, a marine mammal veterinarian could not hide her tears when she realized "Zam," the two-month-old sea cow rescued in a port in Zamboanga City last November 26, was no longer moving his flippers.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, who considered himself as one of the marine mammal's surrogate mother, was silent looking at Zam from his aquarium.
 
Veterinarians and Lobregat discovered Zam has died on Saturday.

"In a way we have developed a relationship with Zam. When you look at his face he looked so friendly and playful whenever any person was around," Lobregat said.

Doctors from Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium and Wildlife in Need, a non-government organization, rushed to Zamboanga City days after learning of Zam's rescue at the port.

Flores with two other veterinarians brought with them supplies for the sea cow, locally known as "dugong."

Like an infant, the animal doctors and Lobregat took turns in feeding Zam with formula milk every four hours. They also changed the water in the mammal's aquarium to help the sea cow survive.

Flores said that like any other young abruptly separated from their mother, surviving was very slim.
 
"The sad part is until now we really do not know how Zam came to the ports of Zamboanga. What happened to his mother, why he was separated from her? The fact that these creatures are rare makes us even more try hard to know why he died?" the veterinarian said.