TAMPA, Fla. — A little more than a handful of manatees are another step closer to going back to their natural habitat as they continue to recover at Florida facilities.
Eight manatees were flown from Ohio zoos to get back to their temporary homes in the Sunshine State over the weekend, including three who will be staying at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. The other five manatees will be placed at SeaWorld Orlando.
The sea cows were placed in custom-built containers to ensure their safety for when they traveled on a plane to Florida, and all are set to complete the final stages of their rehabilitation process before they return back to the waters, ZooTampa said in a news release on Monday.
“Manatees are a critical part of our aquatic ecosystems, and we've been honored to be involved in their rescue, rehabilitation, and return for 47 years, working alongside our partners, including the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, to help preserve these beloved Florida icons," Vice President of Zoological Operations at SeaWorld Orlando Dr. Joseph Gaspard said in a statement. "We have the capacity to care for up to 60 manatees in need at a time in our critical care facility in Orlando, which is one of only a few in the U.S. for the treatment of marine animals.
"A close collaboration among the zoological community, where we transfer stable rehabilitating animals between facilities, is important to free up critical care space and ensure that together we save as many manatees as we can."
The trio of manatees that are now at ZooTampa were also some of the tiniest calves ever treated at the facility's critical care center. They received intensive care, such as bottle feeding, for 18 months at the zoo before they were moved to Cincinnati's Zoo's Manatee Springs in November of last year for rehab.
Now, the three sea cows will be taken care of at ZooTampa until they can be released into Crystal River in February 2024.
“These transfers are extremely important as it allows us to make room to care for critically injured, ill and orphaned manatees,” ZooTampa's Senior Director of Animal Programs Tiffany Burns said in a statement. “We are grateful to our partners in Ohio for providing secondary rehabilitation. It’s an incredible team effort and we are excited about the manatees’ return to Florida waters early next year.”
ZooTampa says it has treated more than 500 manatees, while SeaWorld says it has helped more than 900 of them.
Wildlife officials manatees out in the water are at risk from natural and human-caused threats that lead to loss of seagrass, coming across red tide, being hit by boats or entangled in fishing gear.
“It is an ongoing, crucial care cycle that we have going between our partnering facilities,” said Virginia Edmonds, chair of Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership. “That’s the heart of this partnership, working together as manatees continue to face ongoing threats in the Florida waters and knowing we are helping to make a difference.”
