BRADENTON, Fla. — Meet Tober and Ripkin!
Two new manatees now call the Stage 2 Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat home. They officially moved in on Friday, March 17, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature said in a news release.
The two manatees are the first animals to be cared for since the facility returned three manatees to the wild last month. They mark the 45th and 46th manatees to be cared for at The Bishop.
"Tober and Ripkin are settling in," Director of Animal Care at The Bishop, Virginia Edmonds, said in a news release, "and as the weeks go on, we will continue to monitor their health and see how they adjust to their new, temporary environment."
Ripkin is a juvenile male manatee rescued in October 2022 from Ruskin Inlet. He was an orphaned calf that had a boat propeller injury when he was rescued, The Bishop said. At the time when he was rescued, Ripkin weighed 201 pounds. Five months later, he's 325 pounds.
Tober, rescued in October 2021 from Matlacha Pass in Cape Coral, was a newborn male calf when he was rescued. He only weighed 44 pounds at that time. Manatees typically weigh 60 to 80 pounds at birth. Today, Tober weighs about 360 pounds.
"The goal in the rehabilitation of the manatees in our care is to provide an environment where they can thrive, leading to a timely return to the wild," Animal Care Specialist Mandy Choi said.
Want to pay Ripkin and Tober a visit? The public can visit the two manatees and watch their progress at the Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat located at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton.
The Bishop was once known to be home to Snooty, the oldest manatee in human care certified by Guinness World Records. At 69 years old, he died on July 23, 2017. While living at The Bishop, Snooty greeted somewhere near 2 million visitors in person and on the internet through the "Snooty Cam."