Rescued manatees set free

CRYSTAL RIVER - Our unusually chilly winter has been very hard on Florida's manatees, with an unprecedented 200 animals dying because of extreme cold.

But today, five manatees got to go back to the wild, and one of them was a repeat patient at Lowry Park Zoo's David A. Straz Manatee Hospital.

They call her "Baby Coral" because she was just an infant when she came in with her mother in 2007. When her mother died of her boat strike injuries, Baby Coral became an orphan, but she survived and thrived, to be released in February 2009.

Then the harsh cold of January 2010 set in, killing many manatees and leaving even more cold-stunned.

Baby Coral was wearing a radio tag that may have saved her life. Zoo veterinarian Dr. David Murphy says when the rescue team found her, she weighed 300 pounds less than when she was released a year ago.

"It got a little R&R here for a couple of weeks for us to put a little weight back on it, take a look at it , and we're going to relocate it back into a warm water site," he said.

Dr. Murphy says Baby Coral was pretty resourceful her first time back in the wild

"...so it tagged on to this other cow/calf and that mother adopted it, allowed it to nurse and gave this animal a chance to survive," Murphy said.

Today, she went home again. The staff at the hospital maneuvered her onto a special sling, then Dr. Murphy drove the "manatee crane" that lifted the nearly 800-pound manatee out of the pool and onto the transport truck.

They took her to Crystal River, where the year-round 72-degree water of Three Sisters Spring is
manatee heaven.

It took nearly a dozen people to position Coral for her last few feet to freedom. The Visitor Services Specialist at Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge says this is a manatee that likes to ride belly side up when she travels!

"She's one of the few manatees that prefers that way of transportation. Makes it very difficult to put a tag on. Makes it very difficult to bring into the water. We'd rather take them into the water belly side down," said Ivan Vicente, with the Crystal River Refuge.

But after a few last heaves, Coral was in the spring. At three years of age, she is no longer a baby, and there are high hopes that this release will be her last as she finds her way in the wild.

Coral was one of five manatees released today into Three Sisters Spring. All five were rehabilitated at the Lowry Park Zoo Manatee Hospital, which took in a record 17 manatees during last month's extreme cold snap.