This past Sunday, the SeaWorld Orlando Animal Rescue Team traveled to Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, Fla., to rescue a cold-stressed, adult male manatee from the St. Johns River. The SeaWorld team worked alongside members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to successfully rescue the manatee and transport it to SeaWorld.
Upon arrival, the 8-foot-long, 660-pound manatee underwent a full health examination and was given fluids and antibiotics to treat possible infection.
Over the next several weeks, the SeaWorld Orlando Animal Team will closely monitor the manatee’s progress.
This was the 13th manatee rescue of 2014, and the SeaWorld team has returned nine back to their natural environment this year.
In collaboration with the government and other members of accredited stranding networks, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates one of the world’s most respected programs to rescue ill and injured marine animals, with the goal to rehabilitate and return to the ocean. SeaWorld animal experts have helped more than 24,000 animals in need – ill, injured, orphaned and abandoned – for more than five decades.
As part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP), SeaWorld Orlando is an acute care rehabilitation facility that provides life-saving medical care to rescued manatees.