JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(WSVN)– A manatee that was found injured in a Florida river was released back into the wild after weeks of rehabilitation.
It took a whole team to give the massive marine mammal, named Koa by his caregivers, another chance at life in the wild after it was struck by boat propellers, leaving him scarred.
On Sept. 13, Elmer DePalma saw the over 800-pound sea cow floating in the Ortega River located in Jacksonville.
“I saw this manatee kind of floating a little higher than normal,” said DePalma.
Immediately he knew something was wrong with it.
“So I watch it, and it floated around, came into the back waterway, and it just couldn’t submerge,” said DePalma.
What no one knew in that moment was that Koa had suffered broken ribs and was unable to release air in order to descend into the water.
“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,” said DePalma.
Nadia Lentz, a marine mammal biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, has tracked Koa’s recovery since he was rescued from the river.
“It was rehabilitated at SeaWorld and is now being released back into its natural environment,” said Lentz.
After a two-and-a-half-hour ride from Orlando, Koa was released just feet away from where he was rescued.
The 9-foot, 882-pound mammal was slowly taken off the truck, taking at least 10 people to carry him.
Photos were taken, and yellow marks were drawn on Koa’s body to identify scar patterns before he was microchipped for tracking.
After being checked and measured one last time, volunteers and officials returned Koa back to his home.
Among those volunteers were DePalma and others who witnessed Koa’s rescue.
“It feels good to do something like this?” asked a reporter.
“Yes, absolutely,” said De-Palama.
Koa’s story serves as a reminder for boaters to be on the lookout for manatees and slow down.
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