JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – About six weeks after being rescued from the Ortega River after he was struck by a vessel and injured, manatee Koa was returned to the wild on Thursday.
Elmer DePalama first spotted the 800+ pound seacow floating in the Ortega River on Sept. 13, and he knew something was wrong.
“So I watched it, and it was just floating around,” DePalama said. “It came into the backwaterway, and it couldn’t submerge.”
No one knew it yet, but manatee Koa had broken ribs and could not release air and descend after being injured by a boat propeller.
“I got my camera out and zoomed in on it closer, and it had some propeller marks on it where it had been hit by a boat, so I called Nadia,” DePalama said.
He’s one of several people who called to get Koa help.
Dr. Nadia Lentz, a marine mammal biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, has been tracking manatee Koa’s recovery since the animal was rescued from the river.
He was taken to SeaWorld Orlando, where he was rehabilitated until he was well enough to return to his natural environment, Lentz said.
After a two-and-a-half-hour ride from Orlando, volunteers and members of the FWC, SeaWorld Orlando, the city of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Zoo and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office worked together to get Koa back into the Ortega River on Thursday morning.
Before returning to the wild, Koa was measured. The 9-foot manatee weighs 882 pounds.
It took the manpower of at least 10 people to carry Koa slowly from the truck to the riverbank, where his scars from the accident were also identified.
His microchip for tracking was checked, and then volunteers and officials, step by step, carried Koa home.
After witnessing the rescue last month, DePalama said, “It feels good to do something like this.”
Manatee Koa is tagged and can be tracked and identified, but this is a reminder for boaters: look out for manatees and slow down.
If you see an animal in distress, call 888-404-FWCC.