New manatee joins South Florida Museum

A new manatee was welcomed into the South Florida Museum family as another took the next step in returning to open waters, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

Randall, a manatee who had been at the museum for about seven months was transported to SeaWorld and is expected to be released into the St. Johns River Wednesday morning, South Florida Museum Provost Jeff Rodgers told Spectrum Bay News 9.

“We are very excited about that -- it's time for Randall to go home,” Rodgers said.

Enter Laguna, who came from SeaWorld to the South Florida Museum. Lagoona was rescued on May 29 from Mosquito Lagoon on the east coast of Florida, according to Bay News 9.

Lagoona, along with two other manatees being rehabbed at the museum, are expected to be released into the wild by February, Bay News 9 reported.

Lagoona is the newest manatee to come to the South Florida Museum since the death of beloved manatee Snooty in July, just after the celebration of his 69th birthday.

After Snooty’s death, a third-party review found the Manatee County mascot’s death after he got stuck in an underwater panel and drowned was “preventable.” Snooty lived at the South Florida Museum most of his life and was the oldest manatee in captivity.

“We're always going to be sad about Snooty, but we are happy we are doing our part to rehabilitate manatees,” Rodgers told Bay News 9.

The museum has since made changes to staffing, created a new work order for maintenance, and instituted new dive check lists, according to Bay News 9.

But one resident who spoke to Bay News 9 felt it is too early to welcome another manatee.

“So soon -- it's like are you're not really mourning Snooty and giving him what he deserves for the life he lived here,” said resident Amber Larowe. “I don’t know, I don’t really know how I feel about that.”

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 8:37 AM with the headline "New manatee joins South Florida Museum."