Three manatees are back at home in Middle Keys after medical treatment for months at SeaWorld

Three manatees that were being treated for medical issues and injuries in Orlando were released in the Florida Keys this week.

The mammals, all males, were driven to the Keys in a truck on Tuesday and released into a canal in Key Colony Beach, a small town in the Middle Keys. They were all rehabilitated in SeaWorld, said Mary Stella, spokeswoman for the Dolphin Research Center, a marine mammal park and rescue organization in Grassy Key.

One of the manatees is about 10 to 11 feet long and was rescued from Sombrero Beach in Marathon in April after suffering head injuries from a boat strike, Stella said.

The animal’s skull was fractured, and SeaWorld veterinarians removed pieces of bone from his cranium, Stella said.

“Initially, it was treated with antibiotics and nutritional support and gradually recovered,” Stella said in a statement.

Another manatee was rescued from a canal in Duck Key, also in the Middle Keys, on June 10. The eight-foot mammal should

have weighed about 800 pounds, but was only 460 pounds when he was discovered, according to the Dolphin Research Center.

“When rescued, you could clearly see all of the animal’s ribs,” Stella said.

The other manatee was

taken from a Marathon canal on July 6 because it was underweight. Once at SeaWorld, veterinarians treated him for inflammatory changes in the blood and dehydration, according to the DRC.

“Three animals in the same day, there’s nothing better,” Dr. Scott Gearhart, medical director at Dolphin Research Center, said in a video interview that released by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. “To take in an animal that needs your help and to see it released, it’s fantastic.”

Taking part in the release were staff and volunteers from the Dolphin Research Center and Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, SeaWorld staff and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Anyone seeing a sick or injured manatee is asked to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s marinemammal hotline at 888404-3922.

JASON RAFTER Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Scientists and volunteers prepare a manatee for release back into the wild off Key Colony Beach on Tuesday.