SeaWorld Orlando returns manatee to waters near Boca Grande after rehabilitation
By amusementtoday | June 18, 2013
ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld Orlando’s animal rescue team returned Gibb the manatee to the waters near Boca Grande, on Florida’s southwest coast. Gibb was originally rescued by animal experts at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo on October 26, 2012 during one of the worst red tide blooms scientists had seen in over a decade. Gibb finished his rehabilitation at SeaWorld Orlando under the watchful eye of the park’s vets and rescue team. Gibb is one of seven manatees SeaWorld Orlando will be returning to the wild over the next month.
In collaboration with the government and other members of accredited stranding networks, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates one of the world’s most respected programs to rescue ill and injured marine animals, with the goal to rehabilitate and return to the waters. SeaWorld animal experts have helped more than 22,000 animals in need – ill, injured, orphaned and abandoned – for more than four decades. So far this year, SeaWorld Orlando has rescued two manatees and returned one.
