Disney World assists with rehab and release of manatee back into the wild

Animal care experts from Walt Disney World Resort recently worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to successfully release a 680-pound manatee named Plantaina into the wild after rehabilitating the young female.

Plantaina was found abandoned at less than a week old and rescued near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At the time, she weighed 28 pounds making her the smallest manatee ever rescued.

After a successful initial rehabilitation, Plantaina was released back into the wild in February 2021, but was soon discovered to be losing weight which required another rescue and rehabilitation.

She then spent some time at The Seas with Nemo & Friends at EPCOT, where 24 other manatees have been rehabilitated over the years before being released at Blue Spring State Park, about 50 miles northeast of Disney World.

“Manatees are an iconic species in Florida, and their conservation impacts all of us” veterinarian Scott Terrell, DVM, and director of animal & science operations at Walt Disney World Resort, said in a news release. “Caring for these amazing creatures benefits all of the animals that live in their coastal habitats and the human communities around them.”

Plantaina is one of six manatees to complete rehabilitation at Walt Disney World over the last year. Manatees in rehabilitation at Disney may receive up to 150 heads of romaine lettuce each day depending on their individual needs, along with the occasional treat of apples, carrots and sweet potatoes, to help them return to their natural weight before they are able to be released.

Manatee rescues and rehabilitations are becoming more common in Florida. A severe lack of food is causing concern as runoff and pollution continue to threaten their main food source. Each of these large herbivores can eat up to 300 pounds of seagrass a day, and many are beginning to starve from the lack of aquatic plants, further impacting this endangered species.

Through collaboration with other rehabilitation facilities over the years – as part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) – Disney animal care experts provide ill and injured manatees with the stable, controlled environment they need to make a recovery and prepare for release.

The manatees receive preventive health exams, a calorie-rich diet and around-the-clock monitoring to help them return to the wild when they are fit. Once released, some manatees like Plaintaina are assigned a satellite tracker that enables experts to continue to monitor the animal’s health, migration and socialization with other manatees. These satellite trackers are designed to break away if they become entangled in order to prioritize the health of the manatee.