TAMPA, Fla. — Under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back in December, ZooTampa was called to rescue two manatees from Miami's Seaquarium, two weeks after a November 28th USDA inspection report showed repeated violations at the facility.
Now, ZooTampa animal care professionals are watching the two "elderly and overweight" manatees, Romeo and Juliet, around the clock.
"They are doing well, but it's going to be a long road," said Tiffany Burns, senior director of animal care at Zoo Tampa. "It's been an acclimation for them. It's a whole new environment. So our job is to make sure they are acclimating to their new home."
Both Romeo and Juliet are over 65 years of age and have resided at Miami Seaquarium since the late 1950s. Juliet, at 3,000 pounds, is overweight, Burns said.
"Typically, large females are closer to the 2,000-pound range. So it's something that we knew she needed to lose weight," Burns said.
Burns said naturally, the new environment at ZooTampa will help Juliet lose weight. She's now in a freshwater pool instead of saltwater, which Burns said will require more strength to swim around.
"She doesn't seem to be as buoyant as she was in Miami, so it definitely gives another layer of exercise to where she has to move a little bit more to get to the bottom to get to the food and then back up to the surface to get a breath of air," she added.
She also said now that Juliet is in a pool with other female manatees, she will learn how to share food.
"They are also excited about the food, so naturally, that will help her lose the weight that she needs," Burns said.
Though the goal for all of the manatees at ZooTampa is to rehabilitate and release them back into the wild, unfortunately, that may not be an option for Romeo and Juliet. For now, Burns said ZooTampa will be their home as they continue to recover.
This comes as ABC affiliate WPLG reported in January that the Miami-Dade County mayor called to terminate the lease with Miami Seaquarium while the USDA also said Seaquarium is now back in compliance.
Late Monday afternoon, ABC Action News emailed Miami's Seaquarium about the relocation of their manatees, with no immediate response just yet.
