The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has a very successful, very active volunteer team of employees who help officials with stranded, injured, or otherwise compromised marine mammals in northeast Florida. In this case, a mother and calf were found cold stressed, this past February, near an outfall of a water plant (the water here is a degree or two warmer than the surrounding river. Manatees have an uncanny ability to find these spots -- but they quickly become death traps, because they cannot endure the winter temperatures for long and there is little food for them).The Zoo team helped to rescue the pair and transport them to Sea World in Orlando, where they were successfully rehabilitated. Finally, four and a half months later, on the 28 of May, the two animals were returned to the area, to be released back to the wild not far from where they had been originally found. In the photo, the calf is carried in a sling to the edge of Julington Creek.
State officials, Sea World biologists, and four members of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens team all shared in the exhilaration of having made a difference for wild animals. As reported by J. Fleming, a keeper and team member:
"A quick plan of action was shared by the Sea World leader and we quickly got to work, The calf weighed ~ 400 pounds, while the cow weighed over 1,500 lbs, (she's huge)! After unloading them onto the boat ramp and into the shallows, the cow, named Bella, swam off followed shortly thereafter by the calf, Edward. We saw them surface for air as they swam away in a western direction. It was an awesome experience and a privilege to a part of a positive outcome."
Photo by: H. Zirhut
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