An injured adult female manatee found in the Little Manatee River near Ruskin on Thursday has a poor chance of survival, experts at the Lowry Park Zoo's manatee hospital said today.
The manatee rescue team of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission brought the manatee to the zoo after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit spotted her while on patrol.
The animal, which zoo veterinarians weighed at 715 pounds, had cuts from a boat on its chest and head.
The head injury shows bleeding, swelling and other signs consistent with central nervous system damage, zoo spokeswoman Rachel Nelson said.
The manatee is being housed in a shallow medical pool. Nelson said the animal is unable to submerge and rise to the surface to breathe so the staff helped her overnight by holding her head above water.
Today the staff is using flotation devices such as a life jacket and foam noodles to ease the manatee's breathing, Nelson said.
"Our animal care staff is doing everything possible to make her comfortable and ease her trauma," Nelson said. However, "her condition is grave, with a poor prognosis of survival."
This is the second manatee left in the zoo hospital's care this week. A young male manatee found alone and malnourished near the Tampa Electric Co. power plant is being treated there as well.
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