ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) – As Florida residents continue to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Irma, the folks at SeaWorld Orlando are keeping busy, getting stranded, displaced and injured animals to safety.
On Thursday, SeaWorld staff located an orphaned or abandoned manatee calf in Southwest Florida. The park says manatee calves typically nurse for one to two years and have a close bond with their mothers, therefore when they’re without their mothers for several hours, it’s very likely the calf has been orphaned.
The park teamed up with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to rescue the calf, which was taken to SeaWorld Orlando.
An animal care team said the calf was suffering from dehydration. It was given fluids and later transitioned to a nutritional formula created by SeaWorld that replicates mother’s milk. The calf will be fed every three hours for the next several months and seems to be back on a healthy track.
And on Friday, the team rescued and relocated six manatees that were stranded in Melbourne. SeaWorld Orlando avicultirst are also caring for several birds, including a juvenile brown pelican that may have been blown inland from the storm.
They said five dolphins that were previously located from Dolphin Connection in the Florida Keys before to the hurricane continue to thrive.
The park’s animal experts have helped more than 31,000 animals in need for more than 50 years.STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON-
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