News

Manatees On The Mend

By Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate

In September, we assisted our Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership partners in returning manatee Carditee back into her natural environment at Blue Spring State Park! Carditee was initially rescued in September 2020 as an orphaned calf and was rehabilitated at SeaWorld Orlando, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Zoo Miami, and the Welaka National Fish Hatchery before she was released in February of this year at Blue Spring. Just like all manatees with little experience in the wild, Carditee was outfitted with a satellite tracking device so her movements and adaptation to the natural habitat could be monitored by researchers from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI). In late June, the monitoring team noticed that her tag had not updated in a few days, and out of growing concern for her, they investigated and found her entrapped in a mud bank and vegetation patch in a creek off the St. Johns River (the entrapment was not related to her satellite tracking device). Carditee was unable to get out of the muddy pit on her own, so a rescue team from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and CMARI responded and transported Carditee to SeaWorld for evaluation. In early September, Carditee was—once again—cleared for release and is now swimming freely again.

You may recall from a previous edition of The Manatee Zone that we assisted with the rescue of a small, orphaned calf—later named Mandalore—at Blue Spring in early February. Mandalore was brought to the Bishop Museum of Science’s off-site facility in Myakka for critical care and transferred to the Bishop Museum earlier this summer. We are happy to hear from our partners that Mandalore, rescued at 180 pounds, weighed over 400 pounds by mid-July and may even make the required release weight by this winter!

On July 21, we helped our partners with the rescue of a large female manatee who was likely struck by a watercraft in Oak Hill, on Florida’s east coast. She had broken rib bones and a punctured lung that caused her to float high in the water, unable to submerge. Although injured, the female manatee was very feisty, and it took the crew five attempts to corral her and get her onto the rescue boat, into the transport truck, and then on the way to SeaWorld—all while a thunderstorm was edging in. While many people believe propellers are the biggest culprit for manatee injuries and deaths, the impact force of a fast-moving boat can be just as harmful, or even worse. As of the writing of this article, she’s still recuperating at SeaWorld.

Finally, we are thrilled to highlight the inspiring story of manatee Arthur, from our partners at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. After being rescued from Crystal River on January 17, 2024, Arthur arrived at ZooTampa suffering from severe cold stress lesions. Cold stress cases like Arthur’s are quickly placed into a warm-water pool and given an individualized regime of fluid therapy based on diagnostics (such as blood work) and tailored to each manatee’s specific needs. Unfortunately for Arthur, he also had a bone infection that required intensive care and ongoing treatment from ZooTampa’s exceptional animal care and health teams. Thanks to the specialized medical attention he received at the David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center, Arthur eventually recovered from both his cold stress lesions and the bone infection. After a long journey of recovery spanning about 19 months, Arthur was finally cleared for return to his natural environment in August!

With the colder months approaching—or already underway in the northern parts of the country—manatees need to make their way back to Florida. Any manatees spotted outside of Florida at this time are in danger of developing cold stress and need to be reported immediately to local stranding networks for monitoring and rescue. It is important that people do not feed or water these manatees, as doing so encourages them to stay in areas they need to migrate from. You can find more information and a list of rescue organizations in other states at savethemanatee.org/rescue.