JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Visitors who want an up-close look at the manatees being cared for at the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens won\u2019t have to travel far from the zoo\u2019s new entrance to see them.<\/p>\n
The newly finished $72 million J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River habitat is part of the new VyStar SkyScape entrance way at the zoo. <\/p>\n
The new Manatee River habitat is a 330,000-gallon, state-of-the-art critical care facility designed to rescue, rehabilitate, recover, and release Florida manatees as part of Florida\u2019s statewide rescue and rehabilitation network.<\/p>\n
It has a capacity of up to 20 manatees with features that allow the sea cows to travel easily from the river habitat exhibit to the rehab area.<\/p>\n
Both will open to the public on Friday.<\/p>\n
News4JAX got a behind-the-scenes look at the new habitat on Tuesday, and we\u2019re taking you along on the tour to meet Alpine, Francesco, and Cullen, the first manatees in the new habitat.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, zoo staff use a crane system to carefully lift rescued manatees into specialized medical pools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will put the manatees in a stretcher and kind of shuffle them out towards the back of the truck,\u201d said Derek Mock, interpretive education specialist at the zoo. \u201cThis is where they\u2019re going to come first. Now we can see that full crane system that goes parallel over both pools so we can take them to the far pool if we need to, or we can drop them here at the first pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visitors entering through the new green gates will scan their tickets before heading down a set of stairs leading to Manatee River, where current residents \u2014 Alpine, Cullen and Francesco \u2014 can be seen swimming and eating lettuce.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh they love it,\u201d said Curtis Dvorak, known as the zoo\u2019s Wildlife Wanderer. \u201cThey came out and now they\u2019re looking at the gate into this one. They\u2019re swimming up to the gate looking like, \u2018Oh, can we go over there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dvorak said staff affectionately call the animals \u201cfloating potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
News4JAX got a behind-the-scenes look at the new Manatee River habitat at the Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens (William Sandidge\/WJXT)<\/p>\n
Despite their gentle reputation and simple diet, manatees are the most expensive animals to feed at the zoo. They consume 10% to 15% of their body weight daily, amounting to hundreds of pounds of lettuce.<\/p>\n
The zoo partners closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to rescue injured animals. The agency\u2019s Northeast Field Lab operates at the zoo and receives calls from the public through its hotline when manatees are in distress.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work very closely with FWC,\u201d said Ashley Nelson, a manatee care specialist. \u201cThey\u2019ll receive calls from the public through their hotline. They inform us if they need help going out to rescue manatees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson said most of the injuries treated at the facility are caused by human activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cManatees don\u2019t have really any natural predators,\u201d she said. \u201cSo a lot of those illnesses and injuries that they come in with are unfortunately through interactions with humans, whether that\u2019s boats, watercraft injuries, entrapment in canals and culverts, and things like red tide due to pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dvorak said the exhibit not only provides lifesaving care but also a chance for the public to better understand the threats manatees face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that boat strike on his back like that was our fault,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople ask, why should we care? Well, we should care. One, because it\u2019s an iconic species in our ecosystem. But two, most of the dangers they face are human. If we have the ability to help them, why not?\u201d<\/p>\n
The zoo officially opens the new entrance and Manatee River habitat at 9 a.m. Friday. The first 10 groups to arrive will receive a complimentary behind-the-scenes tour of the facility, and the first 100 guests will receive a free manatee plush.<\/p>\n
In addition to the new entrance and manatee exhibit, the multi-year renovations at the zoo promise a more modern, guest-friendly experience, with changes to pathways so visitors can make a continuous loop through exhibits without backtracking.<\/p>\n