Injured 1,000-Pound Manatee Released In Miami

KEY BISCAYNE, FL — Ten workers at Miami Sequarium helped free a 1,000-pound Florida manatee named Naboo on Tuesday. The injured female was rescued in August after being struck by a boat in Melbourne, Florida. She spent the last four months being nursed back to help at the Seaquarium.

"What happened is she fractured one of her ribs and she punctured her lungs," explained Jessica Schiffhauer of the Sequarium. "She's been here for four months recovering and she's all healed and ready to go."

Schiffhauer described Naboo as a "very spunky" manatee and added that Sequarium staff had to take extra precautions as a result.

"It is very different for us," Schiffhauer said. "We have to watch out for our safety number one. And we just make sure we have enough people to handle her, so we had 10 people to load her up today."

Video and image by AP