COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three female manatees have returned to Florida from zoos in Columbus and Cincinnati as part of a rehabilitation program aimed at returning the aquatic mammals to the wild.
Two manatees from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium – “Pixie” and “Wheezy” – and one from the Cincinnati zoo — “Woodstock” — were flown to Florida last weekend in what officials have dubbed the “Sea Cow Shuffle.”
Woodstock and Wheezy, suffered cold stress and were rescued separately in January 2011. Pixie was found alone in shallow water in July 2010.
The manatees may be released this winter in the Florida waters where they were rescued. For now, they’re in the care of experts at Miami Seaquarium, SeaWorld Orlando and Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.
The Ohio zoos, meantime, will care for two new manatees under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program. The Columbus and Cincinnati zoos are the only ones outside Florida to participate in the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership.