Clearwater Marine Aquarium Opens New Manatee Rehab Center

Clearwater Marine Aquarium just opened their newest habitat designed to help take care of rescued manatees. Rescued manatees that arrive at CMA have been rehabilitating at other facilities through the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP). After arrival, manatees will undergo an acclimation period where their behavior will be closely monitored to ensure their transition to the CMA facility is an easy one.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium recently welcomed their first two manatee patients to their Manatee Rehabilitation Center. Say hello to Yeti and Zamboni! These animals have been receiving critical care at ZooTampa at Lowry Park through the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, and have been steadily recovering and gaining weight. They will be finishing out their rehabilitation journey with us, and will hopefully be released back to the wild this winter!

The two juvenile manatees that arrived at Clearwater Marine Aquarium on July 30 have been adapting quickly to their new surroundings in the Manatee Rehabilitation Center. Yeti and Zamboni have been under close observation over the past 12 days to monitor their behavior and ensure they are acclimating and eating well in their new environment.

CMA began welcoming visitors to the Manatee Rehabilitation Center on August 11th. Visitors are able to view the manatees through our underwater viewing area with barriers to limit human interaction. We ask visitors to maintain a quiet atmosphere and refrain from flash photography while walking through our marine life hospital. Our goal is to prepare these manatees for their eventual release in the winter and provide them the best chance for success in the wild.

Your visit helps support our rescue, rehab, release and conservation efforts to protect these animals, and we are excited to invite you to be part of our mission and discover the wonder of manatees. Visit their page for more info.