TAMPA, Fla. — ZooTampa announced the death of Juliet, a manatee with an estimated age of over 65 years old, on Sunday.
The zoo said her age made her one of the oldest known manatees.
ZooTampa said that over the past week, Juliet was undergoing a routine medical assessment where she displayed health issues likely related to her age. The zoo said she declined suddenly overnight and passed away early Sunday morning.
Last December, Juliet was one of two manatees transferred to ZooTampa to receive urgent medical care at the David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center, one of only four critical centers in the US for the advanced care of critically injured, sick, and orphaned manatees.
Before being transferred to ZooTampa, Juliet had resided at Miami Seaquarium since the late 1950s.
“For more than four months, both Romeo and Juliet had successfully adapted to their new environments in the Zoo’s rehabilitation pools and were socializing with other manatees, Romeo continues to thrive,” stated Dr. Cynthia Stringfield, ZooTampa’s Senior Vice President of Animal Health, Conservation, and Education. “When Juliet arrived at the zoo, there were many aspects of her overall health that were unknown."
According to Dr. Stringfield, Juliet weighed 3,045 pounds.
“She had her necropsy yesterday. We didn’t see anything super obvious, but we did see a lot of age-related abnormalities," said Stringfield. "We'll have to wait for all the laboratory testing and more results to come in in the next few weeks."
Juliet was a fan favorite among visitors, including Michele Deutsch and her daughter, who visit ZooTampa often.
“She was just really big and sweet," said Deutsch.
Staff said she had them wrapped around her flipper in the time she was there, leaving a lasting legacy in her long-life well-lived.
“It’s so special to stand there and watch people at the window and have them say that and have them have that moment with that animal," said Stringfield. "That’s what we want to have happen and so it just feels incredible to know that she was doing that and she impacted so many people.”
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