News

Blue Spring State Park Adoption Update

By Wayne Hartley, Manatee Specialist

Cool weather arrived on October 31, and a few manatees along with it, including Annie and Lily. A very pregnant Annie gave birth the following day.

The season officially began November 11. We had 60 manatees that day. Una and Moo Shoo were in the next day, followed on the 13th by Deep Dent, Gator, Flash, and as a bonus, Millie, an east coast adoptee. Ester was in on the 14th. There was a break in the adoptees until December 1, when Rocket arrived. Another break followed, but on December 11, Brutus, Phillip, and Whiskers showed up. Margarito, Howie, Floyd, Phyllis, and Aqua joined us the next day. Nick appeared on the 13th. Merlin was in briefly on January 1. Doc finally dragged in on January 6. Neither Lenny nor his sister Lucille has shown up. Lenny was born in 1978, and until last season, never missed coming into Blue Spring. We are worried about them.

When there is bad news, we look for some good to come of it. In 2009, a Blue Spring manatee named Della (not an adoptee) was rescued near Palatka, Florida, on the St. Johns River. While in treatment at ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Della had a calf. Della and the calf, named Pal, were returned to Blue Spring once Della was healthy. Pal stayed with his mother as a yearling, but then we lost track of him. Recently, a Blue Spring manatee named Sharkbite was found dead—this is always sad news. But when Sharkbite was scanned for a PIT tag, he turned out to be Pal. Pal had never left us after all.