![]() In a prepared statement, Miami Seaquarium said the U.S. ![]() Today we all get to celebrate an amazing result."ĭemers said Miami Seaquarium is now suing him for flying a drone over the facility. "It's every activist's dream to enact and inspire change. "Public pressure played a monster role in the relocation of these manatees," Demers said in an interview. He believes his organization's widespread video campaign helped make their release happen, he said. Phil Demers, co-founder of UrgentSeas, told the Tampa Bay Times "it's a beautiful thing" to hear the manatees are being relocated to other care facilities in Florida. The hashtag #FreeRomeo flashes at the end of the video, which had amassed nearly 23 million views on TikTok as of Tuesday afternoon. 13, appears to show a lonely Romeo swimming in a small pool. Public pressure for Miami Seaquarium to release the manatees skyrocketed in recent weeks after an advocacy group, UrgentSeas, posted a drone video from above one of the facility's pools. ![]() All three manatees likely have other health issues. Fish and Wildlife Service, meaning their transportation to new care facilities was high risk. Romeo and Juliet are considered "advanced age" by the federal U.S. A third manatee, an adult female named Clarity, was also moved Tuesday to SeaWorld in Orlando after living at Miami Seaquarium since 2009. Their relocation to ZooTampa Tuesday was part of a larger operation that state and federal wildlife officials say had been in the works for months between the government and private care facilities across Florida. "Everyone has been working together to get these animals out of their pool, into a transport vehicle and ultimately to their new home." "A very intricate plan was in place for this," Nau said. That usually includes taking blood samples and potentially pain medication. Over the next 24 hours, each animal will receive a full health assessment, Nau said. And when it comes time to actually place them in a pool, a custom crane does the trick. ZooTampa has specialized stretchers to lift the manatees from their transport truck. "It can be quite the challenge to move such a heavy animal." "As you can imagine, a manatee is quite a hefty load," Nau said. Moving 3,000 pounds of mammal is no easy task. But he got to the zoo with no problems at all."Īnd then came the beloved Juliet at about 3:55 p.m. He's a very old manatee, and that was a lot for him. "Romeo did extremely well during the transport. "There was precious cargo coming through," said Cynthia Stringfield, a ZooTampa veterinarian who was on board with Romeo for the drive. The roughly 4.5-hour drive from Miami included an escort, flashing lights and all, from both state and federal wildlife agencies. Romeo arrived first to ZooTampa at about 1:30 p.m., where he was met by an ecstatic (but courteously hushed) zoo staff. The fact that we get to help sick and injured animals have a chance to have a longer life is definitely a huge honor." "Manatees are in the hearts of so many Floridians. "Today is a very big day," said Melissa Nau, the senior director of animal health at ZooTampa. Juliet's transport left 50 minutes later. Staff began the cross-state journey with Romeo's departure at 8:30 a.m. Now, against the backdrop of animal advocacy groups leading a campaign for their freedom, Romeo and Juliet were delivered to their new home Tuesday at ZooTampa. Department of Agriculture inspection from July pointed to manatee isolation and a lack of shade, among other observations of mishandling animals in the aquarium's care. ![]() The animals, dubbed with the Shakespearean monikers of Romeo and Juliet, have been residents there for so long they predate laws created in the 1970s to help protect them.īut in recent years, living conditions at Miami Seaquarium, once home to the oldest orca in captivity, have come under fire. Since the late 1950s, the pair of Florida manatees have lived at Miami Seaquarium on Virginia Key.
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