![ZooTampa employees help unload one of the manatees arriving from the Cincinnati Zoo. - Photo: Provided by ZooTampa and the Cincinnati Zoo](https://media.citybeat.com/citybeat/imager/u/blog/16070854/zootampa_manatee_4.jpg?cb=1724366424)
The Cincinnati Zoo’s most recent manatee residents have been returned to Florida for the last step in their rehabilitation journey.
Over the weekend, eight manatees from zoos across Ohio were flown more than 1,000 miles back to their temporary homes in Florida in what the Cincinnati Zoo calls a successful culmination of more than two years of rescue work by four zoological and marine institutions. Those included the Cincinnati Zoo’s manatees, Piccolina, Soleil and Calliope, who were taken back to ZooTampa at Lowry Park.
The Cincinnati Zoo welcomed the three rescued manatees to its facility last November. Florida Fish and Wildlife rescued the manatees from different parts of southwest Florida in the spring and summer of 2021, and ZooTampa cared for them for about 18 months until they were brought to Cincinnati for the second step in rehabilitation.
“These transfers are extremely important as it allows us to make room to care for critically injured, ill and orphaned manatees,” Tiffany Burns, senior director of animal programs at ZooTampa, said in a press release. “We are grateful to our partners in Ohio for providing secondary rehabilitation. It’s an incredible team effort and we are excited about the manatees’ return to Florida waters early next year.”
This weekend, the manatees were placed in custom-built, state-of-the-art containers and flown from the DHL Express Global hub at CVG along with a Cincinnati Zoo staff veterinarian and Columbus Zoo animal care curator, who monitored the animals' conditions throughout the flight. The containers were secured on pallets attached to the floor of the plane for stability, and the animals rested on a comfortable, 8-inch-thick bed of foam, said the zoo. They were also covered in wool and space blankets to maintain a healthy body temperature and were misted with water to keep their bodies moist throughout the flight.
“Moving manatees is an extremely complex process that involves significant planning and logistics to ensure that each specific need is met throughout the journey,” Cain Moodie, senior vice president of network operations for DHL Express Americas, said. “We are thrilled to play a key role in this initiative to support endangered manatees in the wild, leveraging our team’s expertise to ensure each animal is transported as quickly and safely as possible.”
In Florida, the manatees will complete the final stage of rehabilitation before being returned to the waters they were rescued from. Piccolina, Soleil and Calliope will be released into Crystal River in February.
The Cincinnati Zoo also now has three new residents at Manatee Springs: Waffles, Nolia and Amethyst, all females, who arrived from Tampa for their second stage of rehabilitation.
“As a second-stage rehab facility, we give manatees individual care for several months, including providing plenty of food and veterinary care, until they’re big and strong enough to go home,” said Kim Scott, curator of mammals at the Cincinnati Zoo. “We may be far from Florida waters, but we love caring for these remarkable animals.”
Manatee Springs will be closed for the next few days, but visitors may be able to see Waffles, Nolia and Amethyst as early as Friday.
Since Manatee Springs opened in 2000, the Cincinnati Zoo has cared for nearly 30 manatees.
Cincinnati Zoo, 3400 Vine St., Avondale. More info: cincinnatizoo.org.Subscribe to CityBeat newsletters.
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