America’s loneliest manatee has finally been relocated after the mammal spent its twilight years in a tiny 30-foot concrete pool in Miami, forced to live separately from its mate Juliet.
A video of Romeo shot last month at the Miami Seaquarium went viral, showing the 67-year-old manatee, who has lived there since 1956, circling in a dilapidated pool after years of outrage from activists over living conditions there.
Earlier Tuesday, the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) successfully transported three manatees – Romeo, Juliet and Clarity – from the Miami Seaquarium (MSQ) to SeaWorld Orlando and ZooTampa.
Transport was an enormous challenge due to the size, weight and health of the animals.
But accompanied by special vehicles and an experienced team of veterinarians and animal keepers, all three animals made the journey safely.
Juliet is placed in the water at ZooTampa
Clarity is delivered to ZooTampa
SeaWorld Orlando’s rescue team prepares to move Clarity
As the USDA reported, the animals had to be rescued and relocated because their previous facility lacked adequate care.
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) harshly criticized Miami Seaquarium’s operators, The Dolphin Company, for their neglect of Romeo and general inadequate care.
Two of the manatees transported during the operation, Romeo and Juliet, weigh more than 3,000 pounds and have lived at the MSQ since the late 1950s.
ZooTampa contacted the USFWS and offered to temporarily care for the two manatees while the MRP identifies a permanent location for them.
The other, Clarity, is an adult female manatee who has remained at MSQ since 2009, when she was rescued due to injuries caused by watercraft.
The US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) is committed to removing the animal from MSQ and has asked SeaWorld Orlando to care for it.
She will undergo rehabilitation at SeaWorld Orlando until MRP reviews her case and determines the best placement for her.
The staff began the journey across the state when Romeo left at 8:30 a.m. Julia left just 50 minutes later.
“Today is a very big day,” said Melissa Nau, ZooTampa’s executive director of animal health. “Manatees are close to the hearts of many Floridians.” “The fact that we can give sick and injured animals a chance at a longer life is definitely a great honor.”
Romeo was the first to arrive at ZooTampa around 1:30 p.m., where enthusiastic zoo staff greeted him after a roughly four-and-a-half-hour drive.
“There was valuable cargo coming through,” Cynthia Stringfield, a ZooTampa veterinarian who was on board Romeo for the ride, told the Tampa Bay Times. “Romeo did extremely well during the transport.” He is a very old manatee and that was a lot for him. But he got into the zoo without any problems.”
His unfortunate lover Julia followed at around 3:55 p.m
Over the next 24 hours, each animal will undergo a full health assessment, which typically includes taking blood samples and possibly taking painkillers, Nau said.
Video of Romeo swimming alone in his aquarium, estimated to be just 30 feet wide, went viral earlier this month when surfing legend Kelly Slater supported a campaign for his release that quickly gained more than 20,000 signatures.
The video, shot by campaign group UrgentSeas, pans over a deserted area of the park and then zooms in on the lone figure of Romeo spinning in circles in the murky water.
One of the manatees is being transported
Juliet in a sling while Clarity waits for her
Clarity at SeaWorld Orlando
One of the manatees is brought to its new home
Juliet in the back of the truck during the difficult transport
Romeo will be placed in this new home
Clarity is placed in the water
Clarity is released into the water
Clarity is released into the water
Clarity is lifted by crane for delivery
Julia is lowered into the water
Phil Demers, co-founder of UrgentSeas, claims Romeo has been kept alone in the “Pompano Pools,” which are not open to the public, since at least April last year.
Romeo was touched after an animal rights activist became upset about his living conditions.
Activists said he had been kept in isolation since at least April.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed they would be transporting Romeo from the center, where the “world’s loneliest whale,” Lolita, died earlier this year
A spokesperson for the service said last week, “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service takes the health and welfare of manatees in managed care seriously.”
“The Service is working with an experienced team of manatee rescue and rehabilitation experts through the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership to support the transport of manatees from the Miami Seaquarium.”
Romeo had been held at the Seaquarium since 1956 and activists said she had been alone since at least April this year
The manatees at the facility were relocated so they could receive proper care. Three of them appeared to have health problems.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said transporting the animals posed a high risk but was necessary for the animals’ future welfare.
Manatees are semi-social animals and “suffer psychologically when they do not live in pairs or groups” – but Romeo had long been separated from his partner and the mother of his offspring, Juliet, and had been alone since the release of his other companions.
It’s not clear exactly how long Romeo was alone or why he couldn’t be with his partner Juliet, but Demers said: “He was separated from Juliet a long time ago – I think it’s a breeding issue, she doesn’t allow it.” ‘To breed manatees.’
In an update, Demers said: “US Fish and Wildlife is expected to relocate Romeo, Juliet and another manatee from the Miami Seaquarium to an MPR (Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership) facility in the coming days.” That can’t happen soon enough. ‘
The drone footage shows Romeo alone in a small concrete tank in a restricted area of the park, where he is said to be kept alone
Sharing the original video online, Demers wrote, “This video was recorded over the Miami Seaquarium on November 13, 2023.”
“Romeo, a 67-year-old manatee, lives in complete isolation in increasingly deteriorating conditions. We must fight for Romeo!’
Romeo’s plight was echoed by 11-time Surf League world champion Kelly Slater, who called for pressure on the Florida Aquarium to release him.
Kelly Slater told : “I’m always confused and sad when I see these stories.” For comparison, I don’t know how the manatee got into the aquarium or if there’s a reason why it didn’t go into the wild can be brought back, but in my opinion manatees are very social and very free creatures that move over long distances throughout the state of Florida.
“They are the gentlest creatures in the world and such a magnificent and recognizable mammal in our state.”
“It seems humane to return these animals to their rightful place in nature, along with whales of all kinds, which should not be kept in captivity at all unless they are terribly injured and unable to return to the wild and To have quality of life.”
“I have swum with and admired manatees my entire life, and it would be a feel-good story if this manatee returned safely to live out its days in the wild.”
Surfing legend Kelly Slater supported the campaign to free Romeo
Romeo had been at the Miami Seaquarium since 1956. He is now 67 years old
The Miami Seaquarium says on its website that Romeo and his partner Juliet were “rescued in 1956” and are “local celebrities” at the aquarium where they had lived for 66 years.
Romeo’s partner Juliet, with whom he had given birth to several calves, was still at the Seaquarium but was kept in a separate “celebrity” tank on the main grounds.
But Demers claims that Romeo was kept “all alone” in the “locked” pompano pools, which are closed to the public.
He added: “Manatees are semi-social animals and suffer psychologically when they do not live in pairs or groups.” But Romeo remains completely alone. The whole time.’
Manatees can live between 50 and 60 years in the wild, but in captivity they can live up to 65 years, making Romeo an older animal.
In a report released earlier this month, the USDA cited the Miami Seaquarium for alleged inadequate animal care and staffing problems – and criticized it for its treatment of Romeo.
According to the report, Romeo had been placed alone in his enclosure because the three other manatees he lived with were released back into the wild in the spring.
And despite numerous attempts to acquire another manatee, the Seaquarium did not meet the requirements.
The report states, “Although numerous attempts were made to acquire an additional manatee, it was determined that the facility did not yet meet the requirements to accept an additional animal.”
“Manatees are semi-social animals and do better medically and psychologically when kept in pairs or groups.”
Footage from April showed Romeo alone in the same pool in the pompano basins. The pool was not covered at the time, leading to concerns that there was no protection for him from the sun
He could be seen swimming into the shaded area of the tank while two other tanks in the restricted area stood empty
In March last year the lease for the site was transferred to The Dolphin Company. Since then, the USDA has issued a series of violation warnings, noting that animals are injured and in distress.
The most recent report accused the aquarium of problems with inadequate veterinary care, inadequate animal treatment, inadequate facilities and critical segregation.
Dolphins were found to have eaten concrete and cable ties, while one had fractured ribs following an attack.
The report said the facility “failed to provide adequate equipment or services to provide appropriate veterinary care” and failed to “maintain a marine mammal enclosure in good condition and protect animals from injury.”
Despite the report, November footage showed Romeo still alone in the tiny tank, surrounded by three other empty and stained tanks.
Manatees are considered an endangered species in the USA, with only 7,500 living in the wild in Florida.
The slow-moving animals swim and rest in very shallow water and are very curious, making them vulnerable to injury from boat propellers.
Lolita, the “world’s loneliest whale” and the star attraction at the Miami Seaquarium for decades, has died at the age of 57
Experts and concerned individuals have long protested Lolita’s prison conditions, including the size of her 80-foot-long, 35-foot-wide pool
Romeo was kept in the same marine aquarium where the orca Lolita died in March this year.
Once dubbed the “world’s loneliest whale,” Lolita died at the age of 57, just months before her planned retirement.
Experts and concerned individuals have long protested Lolita’s prison conditions, including the size of her 80-foot-long, 35-foot-wide pool, the smallest of its kind in the United States.
Just ten years after Lolita’s arrival at the aquarium, her companion Hugo died of an aneurysm caused by repeated head injuries, earning her the title of the world’s loneliest whale.
At 56 years old, Lolita was the oldest whale in captivity and performed until 2022, when she finally retired after an illness.