Bradenton’s Bishop Museum has 2 new young manatees that were orphaned as babies

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton is welcoming two new resident manatees to its rehabilitation facility.

Tober and Ripkin are both juvenile Florida manatees that were orphaned as calves in the wild.

Tober was found as a newborn in Matlacha Pass near Cape Coral in Oct. 2021, museum staff said in a news release. Ripkin was rescued about a year later from the Ruskin Inlet in Ruskin, where he was found with a boat propeller injury.

Both manatees received critical care at manatee hospital facilities. Now, they’ve arrived at The Bishop largely for one purpose: to pack on the pounds.

The museum’s Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat is designed for manatees to get reacquainted with their natural foods and feeding strategies. In the wild, manatees are known to eat about 4 to 9% of their body weight in seagrass and other marine plants daily.

“The goal in the rehabilitation of the manatees in our care is to provide an environment where they can thrive, leading to a timely return to the wild,” said animal care specialist Mandy Choi.

Known scientifically as Trichechus manatus latirostris and unofficially as the sea cow, ocean potato or chonky mermaid, Florida manatees are a subspecies of the West Indian manatee.

And at the Bishop, you can get an up close look at the gentle giants; the Parker Habitat is open to the public during museum hours.

Florida manatees face continued threats

In a highly contested move, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service downgraded the Florida manatee from endangered to threatened status under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2017.

The known number of Florida manatees in the wild has increased significantly since surveying began, growing from around 1,200 in 1991 to an estimated 5,700 to 7,500 in recent years. But the surveys are highly variable and not meant to assess long-term population trends, FWC notes.

Mass die-offs in recent years, especially along the Atlantic coast, have raised concerns about the stability of the species as their habitats are threatened with pollution and ecosystem collapse. The deaths were due in large part to loss of seagrass meadows that serve as the staple food of the manatee.

A record high of 1,100 deaths was recorded in 2021. Deaths remained above average in 2022 with 800 moralities recorded. Deaths have continued in 2023 but at a slower rate, with 163 deaths confirmed around Florida so far this year.

The Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation partnership, of which The Bishop is a member, coordinates efforts around the state to help monitor the species.

Distressed, injured, sick or dead manatees can be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922).

This story was originally published March 20, 2023 at 1:57 PM.