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A team of Jacksonville Zoo employees lower Fezzik the manatee to the ground. -
Positively Putnam, FL
Welaka has a new manatee after Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens released a rehabilitated sea cow into the St. Johns River earlier this week.
Fezzik the manatee was skinny and swimming sideways when he was spotted in Indian River Lagoon Feb. 17, Jacksonville Zoo said in a press release. This condition is common among starving manatees.
Fezzik was taken to Jacksonville Zoo’s Manatee Critical Care Center, where caretakers confirmed that he was underweight.
“He was assessed upon arrival, including bloodwork, and he received supportive care, including oral fluids,” said Curator of Mammals Craig Miller. “Once stable, his rehabilitation was mainly about providing him with the optimal water temperature and plenty of romaine lettuce.”
Fezzik’s condition associated him with the Unusual Mortality Event (UME), designated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The federal government is currently investigating and responding to a record number of manatee deaths along Florida’s Atlantic coast. Preliminary information indicates that a reduction in seagrass, a key food source for manatees, is the main cause of the dieoff.
Fezzik was released with a satellite tracking device to monitor him and ensure he adjusts well to his new location. The location was chosen by the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP).
“He was rescued in the Indian River, in the UME area where there isn’t enough seagrass to feed on,” said Miller. “The MRP biologists looked at two main options, to take Fezzik further south in the Intracoastal Waterway, near North Palm Beach, or up the St. Johns River. They decided to release him in Welaka.”
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Manatee Critical Care Center is an acute care, rehabilitation facility that provides life-saving medical treatment to rescued manatees. The rehabilitation program is the Zoo’s largest regional conservation initiative, releasing 30 manatees since the center opened in August of 2017.
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, along with other zoos, aquariums, non-profit organizations and state and federal agencies, comprise the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership. This partnership works to rescue, rehabilitate, release and monitor the health and survival of manatees across the state.
Information about some of the manatees currently being tracked is available at www.manateerescue.org.
Florida manatees are a federally protected, threatened species and are at significant risk from both natural and human threats. Exposure to red tide, cold stress, disease, boat strikes, crushing by floodgates and locks, line entanglement and ingestion of pollution and debris are just some of the hazards facing one of Florida’s most iconic animals.
To report an injured manatee, call the FWC hotline at 1-888-404-3922 (FWCC) or dial *FWC on a cellular device.