CLEARWATER, Fla. — A record number of 18 rehabilitated manatees were satellite tagged by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, according to a news release.
The manatees were released at three different locations in Florida between Feb. 10 and Feb. 17 by the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP).
Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute researchers and biologists monitor rehabilitated manatees post-release to ensure they are adapting well to the wild, the news release explained.
"CMARI scientists not only monitor rehabilitated manatees as partners in the MRP but study the movement patterns of tagged wild manatees throughout the southeast United States and Caribbean to better understand changing migration patterns and shifts in habitats selected for survival within the manatee population overall," the news release said.
On Tuesday, a record 12 manatees were successfully released at Blue Spring State Park in a single day. The park is a vital, warm-water habitat for manatees, the non-profit group said. It's also one of the largest winter gathering sites for the species in Florida.
"Over the past several years, we have been called upon to rescue an alarmingly high number of injured, sick and starving manatees off the Florida coastline," Monica Ross, chairman of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership and director of Manatee Research and Conservation for Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, said in a statement.
"Through the efforts of the MRP partners, I am thrilled that we were able to return the highest number of manatees to their natural environment in a single day."