CLEARWATER, Fla. — History is being made this week at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where the new Manatee Rehabilitation Center has officially opened to the public.
The facility is expected to play a crucial role in helping manatees survive.
“I like seeing behind-the-scenes and all the medical stuff. How they treat the animals — that's really cool,” said Marshall Rose, visiting the new rehab center.
CMA’s Manatee Rehabilitation Center has become just the fourth in the state capable of providing a high level of rescue, research and medical care.
“Remember, these are patients. These are not manatees on display. We take care of them like they're in a hospital because they're going to go back down into the water,” said CMA’s Chief Zoological Officer, James “Buddy” Howell.
The first two residents of the 80,000-gallon tank are Yeti and Zamboni. They're both transfers from the rehabilitation center at ZooTampa.
“As hard as it is to say goodbye,” said Tiffany Burns, President of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership. “We will be even more excited when it is time for them to go home to their Florida waters.”
“I think that every animal belongs in nature, definitely,” CMA visitor Aubrey Broussard added. “I'm excited for them to be free.”
The rehabilitation center is designed to care for up to seven manatees, insulating them from interaction with the public, but still designed so that people can watch, learn and connect.
“Because we are inspiring the next generation to be a part of all that we see,” said CMA’s CEO Joe Handy, “And help out these majestic animals that don't have a voice.”
The care doesn’t end when the manatees are released, either.
The aquarium will tag and track each of the manatees it treats — "outpatient care," as they call it. So, if it turns out one of the sea cows is struggling or not doing well in the wild, they can be retrieved and brought back again for continued care.
Caregivers said Yeti and Zamboni are doing well and both are putting on weight. Staff hopes to release them back into the wild sometime this winter.