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Mo was first rescued as an orphan from the Withlacoochee River in 1994. After his first release he wound up miles off shore in the Dry Tortugas and was brought back in for rehabilitation. His second attempt came in 2002 when he was recaptured in Hillsborough County waters off of Tampa Bay in January 2003. After his last rescue, it was thought that part of Mo's problem might be that he did not know what type of vegetation to eat in a new salt water (SW) environment. He was first transferred to WDW-Living Seas , did not eat SW vegetation offered and for some reason ingested sand. He was transported back to Lowry Park , put weight on and then sent to the Miami Seaquarium to be exposed to SW vegetation again. This time Mo ate SW vegetation and was exposed to colder water temperatures throughout the winter at this facility. Mo was released on 9/9/05 at Crystal River in Kings Bay .

Douglas is a male manatee who was rescued in Key Largo as an orphaned calf in May 1985. He was taken to Miami Seaquarium and then later transferred to Cincinnati Zoo in April 1999. Douglas was first released on 3/2/04 . He was brought back into captivity in November 2004 due to low weight, measurements, back fat and the onset of the approaching winter. Douglas was released back into the wild on 6/14/05 at Blackpoint Marina’s Manatee Sanctuary.

Bobber is a female manatee that was rescued due to a severe flipper entanglement containing monofilament, green net and a bobber containing a green spool of line (which is how she got her name Bobber) in Brevard County on 4/28/04 , near the Titusville Municipal Marina. She was 253 cm in length and weighed 715 lbs at capture and was estimated to be approximately five years old. Bobber was taken by FWC biologist to SeaWorld of Florida for treatment of injuries. She lost one of her flippers due to entanglement and received severe scaring on the other flipper. Bobber was released on 5/11/05 at Kars Park in the Banana River . There were at least 15 other manatees in the basin at her release. She was observed socializing as she slowly traveled South out of the basin. Bobber was 271 cm in length and weighed 1080 lbs on the day of her release.

Bo is a male manatee that was rescued in Brevard County on 2/19/03 . He was a rescued orphan with cold stress signs. He was 174 cm in length and weighed 230 lbs. Bo spent 22 months at SeaWorld of Florida recovering, growing and gaining weight. In preparation for his release, he was transported from SeaWorld’s freshwater environment to salt water at Miami Seaquarium in December 2004. This was to help Bo acclimate to conditions at his future release site, under controlled settings and to expose him to salt water foods found in the wild. Bo was released on 3/29/05 at Blackpoint Marina’s Manatee Sanctuary with another animal, believed to be his twin, Daisy. Bo was 255 cm in length and weighed over 800lbs on the day of his release.

Daisy is a female manatee that was rescued as an orphan with cold stress signs in Brevard County on 2/19/03 . She was 165 cm in length and weighed 205 lbs. Daisy spent 22 months at SeaWorld of Florida recovering, growing and gaining weight. In preparation for her release, she was transported from SeaWorld’s freshwater environment to salt water at Miami Seaquarium in December 2004. This was to help Daisy acclimate to conditions at her future release site, under controlled settings and to expose her to salt water foods found in the wild. Daisy was released on 3/29/05 at Blackpoint Marina’s Manatee Sanctuary with another animal believed to be her twin, Bo. Daisy was 253 cm in length and weighed over 800lbs on the day of her release.

Snorty:
Snorty is a male manatee that was rescued due to cold stress in Duval County , near the St. Johns River in the Ortega River on 12/18/03 . He was 222 cm in length and weighed 510 lbs. Snorty spent several months at SeaWorld of Florida recovering and gaining weight before he was transported to Columbus Zoo. In December, Snorty returned to SeaWorld of Florida in preparation for his release. Snorty was released on 2/24/05 at Blue Spring State Park with another rescued cold stressed animal named Scarface. Snorty was released at 258 cm in length and weighed 925lbs on the day of his release.

Scarface:
Scarface is a female manatee that was rescued due to cold stress in Duval County , near the St. Johns River in the Ortega River on 12/18/03 . She was 208 cm in length and weighed 460 lbs. Scarface spent 14 months at SeaWorld of Florida recovering and gaining weight. Scarface was released on 2/24/05 at Blue Spring State Park with another rescued cold stressed animal named Snorty. Scarface was 240 cm in length and weighed 865lbs on the day of her release.

Scarface and Snorty were released on 2/24/05 at Blue Spring State Park. At the time of release, there were no other wild manatees in the spring run. We purposely lined the animals up during their release so they would swim out of the stretchers and towards the warmer waters of the spring run. The hope was that they would be able to "feel" the warmer 72 degree water first and then as they explored they would experience the currently colder waters of the St. Johns River. They did exactly as hoped and stayed in the warmer waters and slowly ventured out into the colder waters. Two other manatees were seen socializing with both Scarface and Snorty at the spring mouth soon after the release. Within an hour, Snorty left the area and began to travel north along the river bank. We could not verify if he was with another animal or not. Scarface remained in the area, milling into the St. Johns and then back into the spring. She was seen socializing with another manatee for up to two hours after release.