SeaWorld Caring for Manatee Rescued Near Jacksonville

The SeaWorld Orlando Animal Rescue Team traveled to Jacksonville yesterday morning to assist the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) with rescuing a cold-stressed manatee in the waterways near the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the second manatee within 48 hours to be rescued from the Jacksonville area. The nearly 8-foot-long, 565-pound manatee was suffering from dehydration and mild cold stress. 

Manatees can easily become cold stressed when waters dip below 68 degrees. Following the successful rescue, the manatee was immediately transported to SeaWorld Orlando where it received a full health examination upon arrival. The SeaWorld Orlando Animal Rescue Team also took a blood sample, administered fluids and provided antibiotics to treat possible infection. The Animal Rescue Team is cautiously optimistic that this manatee will recover quickly and will be able to be returned back to the waters soon.

So far this year, SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue Team has rescued 10 manatees and returned nine.

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), the SeaWorld Orlando is an acute care rehabilitation facility that provides life-saving medical care to rescued manatees.

The MRP is a cooperative group of non-profit, private, state, and federal entities who work together to monitor the health and survival of rehabilitated and released manatees.  Information about manatees currently being tracked is available at www.manateerescue.org. The endangered Florida manatee is at risk from both natural and man-made causes of injury and mortality. Exposure to red tide, cold stress, and disease are all natural problems that can affect manatees. Human-caused threats include boat strikes, crushing by flood gates or locks, and entanglement in or ingestion of fishing gear

If you see an injured marine animal, you can help by calling the FWC hotline at 1(888) 404-3922 or by dialing *FWC on a cellular device.

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