Ohio Zoos Helping to Save Manatees.

In two separate incidences this February, manatees that had been rehabilitated with the help of Ohio zoos were returned to the wild. On February 16th, Comet, a 1,000 lb. manatee that had been rehabilitated at the Columbus Zoo, was released at Blue Springs State Park, FL as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) rehabilitation program. The manatee was fitted with a satellite/radio/sonic transmitter belt purchased by the zoo, to follow his post-release movements and behavior. And on February 22nd, Xoshi, a female manatee that had been abandoned as a calf, then rescued and rehabilitated at the Lowry Park Zoological Gardens in Tampa, was released into the St. John's River near Orlando. Technology paid for by the Cincinnati Zoo Conservation Fund will allow for monitoring of her movements, as well. Visitors to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will be able to see Xoshi's position from a computer terminal in their Manatee Springs exhibit.

Both the Cincinnati Zoo and the Columbus Zoo opened manatee exhibits in 1999--Manatee Springs in Cincinnati, and Manatee Coast in Columbus. The manatees that inhabit the exhibits were lent as part of a FWS program designed to free space in Florida facilities for the critical care of manatees that are injured by boat propellers or become tangled in fishing lines.