ORLANDO, Fla. — The Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership is set to will release more than a dozen manatees back into their natural habitats in Florida over the next couple of weeks and wants to remind the public of the importance of leaving manatees alone.
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The MRP is a group of non-profit, private, state, and federal entities that collaborate on the rescue, rehabilitation, release, and post-release monitoring of manatees.
If you see a tagged manatee near a dock or while out boating, do not approach, follow, or interact with them and to not tamper with the tracking gear.
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According to a news release, “Young manatees with little experience need to learn many things in the wild, including where to find warm water during the winter for survival, food, and shelter.”
“The gear we deploy on manatees allows us to monitor their movement and behavior. When an animal loses their tracking gear, we become very concerned that they might not make it. It is their lifeline for us to provide assistance and rescue if needed,” said Monica Ross, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI).
Many of these manatees are considered high-risk and are fitted with tracking gear so MRP can monitor them closely as they are reintroduced back into their natural habitat.
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“These devices are completely safe for manatees and are built to break away should the equipment get entangled on anything,” said Jenn Galbraith from CMARI. “It does not inhibit the movement or natural behavior of the manatee. In fact, they can be lifesavers. If a manatee fails to find warm water habitat in the wintertime, loses too much weight by not eating enough food, or moves into an area not sustainable for survival, the MRP can intervene and initiate a rescue.”
Recently a formerly rehabilitated manatee “Asha,” who was released at a warm water site last winter but had her tracking gear removed by a citizen and was unable to find warm water and unfortunately died from cold exposure early this January.
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“The GPS tracking gear Asha had been fitted with was removed by a citizen about two weeks after her release,” said Craig Miller, Curator of Manatee Conservation at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. “If Asha still had her GPS gear, the MRP would have known she was in too-cold waters, and we could have intervened and saved her life. Not only are the partners in the MRP incredibly dedicated, but we all share the common goal of seeing manatees living freely in the wild.”
MRP is asking the public to report tagged manatees or any manatee in distress to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at 1-888-404-3922.
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