The Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat

Modeled after a cypress spring, the newly renovated Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature holds 60,000 gallons of water and houses manatees that were rescued from the wild after they became sick or injured. This exhibition allows above and underwater viewing and offers guests information about the anatomy and life history of manatees, including the challenges they face in the wild.

The Bishop’s Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat is a Stage 2 rehabilitation facility — a temporary home where manatees come after their initial critical-care needs have been met in manatee hospitals. This second-stage facility offers manatees the opportunity to gain exposure to natural foods and feeding strategies while gaining weight for their return to the wild. Second-stage facilities play a vital role in maintaining space for critically-ill manatee patients in the hospitals. The Bishop has been rehabilitating manatees since 1998 and was a founding member of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) in 2001. The MRP is a cooperative of nonprofit, private, state, and federal entities that rescue, rehabilitate, and return manatees to the wild.

The newly renovated Habitat resembles a cypress spring and provides the animals with an environment that closely mimics what they will encounter in the wild. The pool contains variable textures and rougher surfaces that give manatees an opportunity to use their sense of touch. Other features include an artificial tree as well as different levels on which to rest providing a stimulating environment for them to navigate with features similar to what they will experience in the wild. The facility was the permanent home to Manatee County’s official mascot and the oldest known manatee in the world, Snooty, who passed away in 2017 at a record-breaking 69 years old.

Some Common Reasons We Help Manatees

From Members of Our Animal Care Team:

A red tide, or harmful algal bloom, is a higher-than-normal concentration of a microscopic alga (plant-like organism). In Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, the species that causes red tide is Karenia brevis, or K. brevis, which produces toxins that can affect the central nervous system of fish and other marine animals, including manatees.

Florida manatees are herbivores, feeding on aquatic vegetation like seagrasses. Small crustaceans and barnacles grow on the blades of seagrasses and feed by filtering out particles from the surrounding waters. During blooms, red tide toxins accumulate in these crustaceans and, as manatees feed on seagrasses, they inadvertently ingest these crustaceans and the toxins they hold. If they ingest enough of these toxins, they can become very ill or even die. Manatees are also exposed the red tide toxins when they surface to breathe and can develop respiratory infections that can also be fatal.

Cold Stress:

Cold stress can occur when manatees spend prolonged periods of time in water colder than 68 degrees and begin having frostbite-like symptoms. They can also be susceptible to pneumonia.

Orphaned Calves:

Manatees typically spend the first one or two years of their lives with their mothers, learning the ropes of how to find food and warm-water spots where they can safely pass the winter. If their mothers die, they need extra care until they’re big enough to navigate their environment. These orphaned animals are typically released during the winter months into groups of manatees congregated in warm-water spots in the hopes that they will find “mentors” that will help them learn the routes to and from warm-water spots.