TAMPA, Fla. — Manatees loooooove romaine lettuce.
What You Need To Know
ZooTampa‘s construction continues at Manatee rescue and rehabilitation center with plans to open in spring of 2026
Will be renamed “Florida Waters,” and will host life from fresh to salty to brackish waters
Caretakers monitor manatees daily for any behavior change as a result of construction
MAP: View more Florida on a Tankful locations
It’s something you can verify yourself at ZooTampa’s manatee habitat, where Senior Curator of Florida and Marine Life Molly Lippincott is in charge of their care.
“So we’ve been working on this project for almost five years — the construction itself has been about two years,” said Lippincott.
This project is an overhaul of the manatee rescue and rehab facilities.
“Florida Waters” will be their new home.
Waters in plural because manatees live in fresh, salt and brackish waters.
A hard hat tour revealed a new freshwater “Otter Oasis” habitat, double the size of their current digs.
There is also a partially completed walkthrough of a mangrove forest, leading to the underwater manatee viewing in their saltwater tank.
Nearby large cylinders columns will be filled with moon jellies — all floaty and aglow.
And just across from them, a ceiling to floor aquarium filled with fellow Florida reef dwellers.
And finally, a planned tank of brackish water with animals that live there — at the mouths of rivers, etc.
The construction has happened as the zoo continues rescuing and rehabbing injured manatees.
Closing it for expedited construction was not an option.
“There are only two critical care facilities currently in the state of Florida. We are the only nonprofit critical care facility, the largest in the world.”
So they planned building around manatee care, covered the viewing areas and tested the waters.
“So we worked hand in hand with them to do behavioral observations as well as we put a hydrophone in the water every day to listen to the noise — and their vocalizations,” said Lippincott.
So far so good, she says — the mission of conservation and education continues.
“It’s something that we love sharing with the community, and we need the community to care just as much as we do,” said Lippincott
It’s community members who spot manatees in distress and call for help.
On the front lines to save the gentle sea cows.
ZooTampa plans to open the facilities in the spring of 2026.
And visitors will once again have access to the underwater viewing theatre, in addition to meeting all the animals that live in the manatee’s water world — whether fresh, salty or brackish.