Miami Seaquarium manatees moved to SeaWorld Orlando, ZooTampa
SeaWorld Orlando is caring for a manatee removed from Miami Seaquarium under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The animal, a female named Clarity, arrived Tuesday afternoon.
The government also has transported manatees named Romeo and Juliet from Seaquarium, where they have lived since the late 1950s, to ZooTampa. Clarity had been at the Miami facility since 2009 after receiving watercraft-related injuries.
Seaquarium was cited in a report this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failing to provide proper equipment for veterinary care and not keeping a marine mammal enclosure in good repair. Animal rights protestors and news reports have said that Romeo has been living alone in a pool for several months.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requested SeaWorld Orlando assume care for Clarity, who will reside at SeaWorld Orlando until Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership experts review her case and determine placement for her. The service has jurisdiction over Clarity through the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Similar procedures will be performed for Romeo and Juliet at ZooTampa.
The park works closely with the wildlife service, said Dr. Joseph Gaspard, vice president of zoological operations for SeaWorld Orlando.
“All of our rescues and rehab efforts come up under their oversight, so we talk to them quite regularly and also work with the state,” Gaspard said.
For the Clarity case, “We were brought in probably a little over a month ago, just to talk about the feasibility and what we can land as far as our expertise and our team members,” he said.
SeaWorld Orlando and ZooTampa are two of only three critical-care centers for manatees in the United States.
“We do have a vast array of specialized equipment, pools and staffing that come into play, and that was the primary reason the service came to us to play a role in this removal,” Gaspard said. “We literally do this every day. Even if it’s within our park, we are working with our critical species.”
The three manatees were loaded into specialized vehicles and accompanied by veterinarians and animal-care specialists. Trucks were provided by ZooTampa, Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
It’s no small task. Clarity probably weighs between 1,200 and 1,400 pounds, Gaspard said. Juliette, one of the manatees going to Tampa, weighs more than 3,000 pounds.
For now, Clarity resides at SeaWorld Orlando.
“Where she could be down the line, I can’t say,” Gaspard said. “Could be here, could be at another facility, could be back in a natural setting. … But our ultimate goal is to provide the best care that we can, as we do with every animal here.”
