Our team works hard to provide their expertise in assisting individual manatees and raise awareness with our guests about steps we can all take to help protect manatees and other aquatic species. This program exemplifies our organization’s mission to lead and inspire by connecting people and wildlife. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is extremely proud to be a part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership program, through which we have assisted in the rehabilitation and release of over 30 manatees. She has already taken a strong interest in the new arrivals, showing them around the habitat. While Scampi and Squirrel continue to adjust to their new surroundings, they will continue to have access to behind-the-scenes areas, along with Stubby. Instead, she has often voluntarily assumed the role of a surrogate mother looking after the other manatees. Her condition is evaluated every five years to determine if she is ready or not to return to Florida, but it is unlikely that she will move out of this category. Scampi and Squirrel have joined the Zoo’s Manatee Coast habitat with long-term resident and fan favorite, Stubby. Due to Stubby’s extensive injuries from a boat strike, she is considered to be a conditionally non-releasable animal. She now weighs 116.5 pounds but is still one of the smallest manatees who has ever arrived at the Columbus Zoo. She was able to nurse from them and ate lettuce on her own, which was an important accomplishment since she was very small when she was rescued. Upon her arrival at the Miami Seaquarium, she was placed in a pool with two other females in their rehabilitation center. Squirrel was found as an orphaned calf and was rescued on May 2, 2020. After receiving care and gaining some weight at the Miami Seaquarium, Scampi is now estimated to weigh around 200 pounds, which is still small, considering that adult manatees can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Sadly, Jumbo passed away due to her extensive injuries from a boat impact wound. Scampi was rescued with her mother, Jumbo, on November 22, 2019. There, Bananatee and Tostone will begin their final preparations to be released in Florida waters where they were initially found. Scampi and Squirrel’s arrival follows Monday night’s departure of manatees, Bananatee and Tostone, who completed their rehabilitation at the Columbus Zoo and returned to the Miami Seaquarium. The two female manatees both began their rehabilitation journey at the Miami Seaquarium before arriving at the Columbus Zoo early Thursday morning, accompanied by a member of the Zoo’s Animal Care team and one of the Zoo’s staff veterinarians. They are the 32nd and 33rd manatees to arrive at the Zoo for rehabilitation since the Columbus Zoo joined the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) in 1999. POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) - The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium welcomes two young manatees, Scampi and Squirrel.
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