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Manatee Nursed By Zoo On Way To Freedom

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Lenora Lake, Tribune correspondent

Published: September 13, 2007

Updated: 09/13/2007 12:46 pm

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TAMPA - A 1,050-pound Florida manatee that had been rescued in Corpus Christi, Texas, was released about 11:30 a.m. today in Crystal River in Citrus County.

The 7-year-old male manatee, Texas, had left the zoo on West Sligh Avenue about 9 a.m., accompanied by staff from the Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The staff members saw him swim away before starting a return trip to Tampa.

The manatee was loaded from a holding pool by crane into a truck for the trip. A blood sample was taken, and he was patted by the caregivers, a procedure used for "settling them down," said David Murphy, the zoo's veterinarian who oversaw the animal's care.

The manatee was rescued by the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. He was treated by the Texas State Aquarium and brought, via a 24-hour trip in a U-Haul trailer, to the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Hospital at the Tampa zoo on Jan. 8. At the time, he was in critical condition, suffering from cold stress and related symptoms.

Murphy said he was not returned to Texas because "That is not the normal home range" for manatees.
He said more manatees are being seen in the waters of other Gulf Coast states. "That may indicate the population is growing" and the animals are trying to expand their territory, Murphy said.

The animal will be collared and monitored by satellite by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Research Institute.

Texas is the 199th manatee treated at the zoo's manatee hospital, which opened in 1991. With Texas' release, the zoo will be caring for nine manatees.

It costs about $300 to feed one adult manatee for a day, according to figures provided by the zoo.

Much of the area of Crystal River, known for its clear water, is a national wildlife refuge where manatees live year-round.

Wednesday, the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to delay downgrading the status of the animal from endangered to threatened until at least December.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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