Good News: Adorable Manatee’s Release Goes Off Without A Hitch

Tampa, FL — Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo celebrated a major milestone Wednesday when Shorley, a young manatee sickened by red tide, was released back into Pinellas County waters.

Shorley’s successful rehabilitation and release marked the 230th for the nonprofit zoo’s manatee hospital. She was brought to the Tampa facility on April 11 after she was found near Indian Shores suffering from severe red tide exposure.

Exposure to red tide, an organism found in Gulf of Mexico waters, can cause manatees a number of serious, potentially life-threatening problems.

“Manatees suffering from red tide arrive in a ‘comatose’ like state, and seizures are common,” the zoo explained. “Therefore, even in shallow water, they can drown when rolling.”

While Shorley arrived in grave condition, after two months of care at the zoo’s hospital, she was given a green light for release. She returned to the wild from the boat ramp at War Veterans’ Memorial Park, 9600 Bay Pines Blvd., in St. Petersburg Wednesday.

Lowry Park Zoo opened the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Hospital in 1991 to provide care for sick and wounded manatees from across the state. Since its inception, the hospital has cared for more than 400 manatees.

Manatees cared for at the hospital come in suffering from a variety of conditions. The zoo’s team has treated manatees for such concerns as boat strikes, red tide exposure, cold stress and entanglement. The hospital also takes in orphaned manatees.

“This endangered species has been at the heart of the zoo’s commitment to conserving Florida wildlife for 25 years,” explained Larry Killmar, Lowry Park’s chief zoologicial officer, senior vice president and zoo director. “We focus on the welfare of each manatee patient that comes to us so that we can help to conserve the species in Florida waterways. Conservation education programs at the zoo reach more than 1 million visitors annually about how to protect manatees when they leave our hospital.”

Lowry Park’s manatee hospital is the only nonprofit, acute care facility of its kind and is one of only three federally permitted rehabilitation facilities in the state, the zoo said.

As a nonprofit organization, the zoo relies heavily on donations to fund its manatee hospital and other animal care efforts.

“Without support from you and others in our community, the zoo cannot continue critical care of manatees,” it explained on its website.

To help fund the 231st successful manatee rehabilitation and release, visit Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo online.

Photos courtesy of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo