Cincinnati Zoo To Put Manatee Program On Hold   

from WCPO Channel 9

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s two Florida manatee residents, “Slip” and “Lil’ Joe” are going back home soon.

Visitors to the Cincinnati Zoo will have until October 17 to bid farewell to the popular sea cows.

The Zoo’s manatee program will be on hold for the next five months when U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) will select more manatees to return to the Cincinnati Zoo next spring.

During the anticipated five-month hiatus, the Zoo will make the most of the opportunity by upgrading the manatee tank and the mechanical systems at Manatee Springs.

As part of the USFW’s Manatee Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release program, Slip and Lil Joe will travel to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo in Florida, where they will undergo several months of pre-release conditioning at the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Hospital.

Staff will monitor both animals and begin the training process which will enable these two long-time captives to be released.

Part of this training will be to get the animals accustomed to aquatic plants that they will be feeding on in the Florida waters.

The exact release dates will be determined once the manatees reach their ideal weight and have been given a clean bill of health.

Prior to their release, the manatees will be equipped wearing a radio-transmitter tethered to the base of their tail.

Scientists will use radio-transmitter signals to track movements and will obtain visual assessments at least twice a week.

If the manatees are in good health after spending a year in the wild; have demonstrated an ability to forage for food, to associate with wild counterparts and to locate and successfully winter at warm water sites, then the release will be considered successful.

The Cincinnati Zoo is one of only three facilities outside of Florida to participate in the USFW’s Manatee Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release Program.

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