ORANGE CITY, Fla. — SeaWorld Orlando and several partner agencies released three rehabilitated manatees back into the wild Thursday morning.
CardiTee, Clawford and Lilypad found themselves back in their natural habitat at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City.
The female manatees first arrived at SeaWorld as orphaned calves.
After enough time under careful watch, veterinary teams recently determined that the animals were healthy and ready to return to the wild.
The Manatee Rehabilitation & Program, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection have assisted SeaWorld’s Rescue Team in the rehabilitation effort.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute has also been instrumental in the sea cows’ ongoing care and was on hand Thursday at the park to to tag the manatees for post-release monitoring.
CMAR will track the animals for approximately one year to study their feeding habits, migration patterns and overall survival success in the wild.
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