SeaWorld recently announced it will expand its manatee critical care facility in Orlando to add more capacity in the state of Florida to care for manatees in need. The buildout will include a new three-pool complex that adds 200,000 gallons of water for manatee response, and a new lift floor to an existing pool, that doubles the size of the critical care space at SeaWorld’s rescue center in Orlando. Upon completion, SeaWorld will have the ability to care for 60 manatees in need, the largest capacity in the state of Florida and in the U.S. The expansion is necessary to care for the record number of manatees in crisis due to the Unusual Mortality Event (UME).
“The crisis facing manatees is not letting up and we know that SeaWorld’s existing rescue center infrastructure gives us the foundation upon which to quickly build and expand to care for animals in need,” said Jon Peterson, VP of Zoological Operations at SeaWorld Orlando, Head of SeaWorld Orlando Rescue Team, and Chairman of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership. “That larger space, together with our sizable, highly specialized, and experienced manatee care team means that we are able to mobilize quickly and effectively to help save the lives of these animals and in doing so help save the species from extinction.”
The new tri-pool complex at SeaWorld’s Orlando rescue center will consist of a large new round pool flanked by two slightly smaller oval pools. All three pools will be interconnected, and shade coverings will be built over the new pools to aid in the comfort of rehabilitating manatees. In addition to the new pools, a new critical care lift floor will be installed for an existing pool, essential to raise the animals safely to the water line to administer medical care and treatment and perform health checks. The existing decking structure around the current pools will also be modified to provide better access to the manatees by the animal care team. The enhancements will double the size of the manatee critical care space at SeaWorld’s rescue center in Orlando.
The new pools are being fabricated now and will be operational in July 2022. Other aspects of the buildout will be ongoing. All projects are expected to be completed by early 2023.
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Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter @iamcg83