Manatee returns to Salt Springs after rehabilitation at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
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Manatee Returns to Salt Springs after Rehabilitation at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After three months in rehabilitation, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens released a male manatee Wednesday in the Salt Springs Recreation Area.
The manatee is the 22nd release from the Manatee Critical Care Center.
This is the second rehabilitation for the manatee. He was named Jesup for his original rescue location in 2020, Lake Jesup in central Florida. He was brought to SeaWorld to treat emaciation and cold stress syndrome, then released two months later to the same area, according to the Jacksonville Zoo.
Jesup the manatee returns to salt springs after rehabilitation at Jacksonville Zoo
The manatee was rehabilitated at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens prior to his release, but this isn t the first time that the manatee needed some extra help. Author: First Coast News Staff Published: 11:50 AM EDT May 20, 2021 Updated: 12:10 PM EDT May 20, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. One lucky manatee is getting another chance at living a healthy life after he was released Wednesday at the Salt Springs Recreation Area of the Ocala National Forest.
The manatee was rehabilitated for almost three months at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens prior to his release, but this isn t the first time that the manatee needed a little extra help.
From Silver Springs to Juniper Springs, Marion County has numerous household names when it comes to nature preserves and recreation areas. You probably haven’t heard of Big Pine Preserve though yet.
That’s the new name of 541 acres that sit inside of, but are not a part of, the Ocala National Forest and border Lake Kerr. The North Florida Land Trust recently received approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to add Big Pine Preserve to the Florida Forever program, which protects conservation and recreation lands.
To be added to the program, areas must pass a vote by Florida Forever’s Acquisition and Restoration Council. The council considers whether the project will meet certain goals, such as increasing the protection of Florida’s biodiversity, protecting and restoring the functions of land and water systems and increasing natural resource-based public recreation.