ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A young manatee known as Melby is on the mend at SeaWorld Orlando, capturing the hearts of visitors and the Melbourne Beach community after a dramatic rescue from a storm drain left him in need of critical care. Now, local residents and community leaders are rallying to support his recovery – and make sure something like this never happens again.<\/p>\n
Members of the Melbourne Beach Rotary Club visit SeaWorld (WKMG-TV)<\/p>\n
The Melbourne Beach Rotary Club recently visited Melby at SeaWorld to announce a GoFundMe campaign called \u201cBring Melby Home,\u201d aimed at raising $70,000 to cover costs tied to the rescue, rehabilitation, and eventual release of the beloved manatee.<\/p>\n
Melbourne Beach Residents show support for Melby (WKMG-TV)<\/p>\n
Steven Rodrigo, secretary of the Melbourne Beach Rotary Club and incoming club president, said the effort came together quickly after the town reached out for support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe town reached out to us, and wanted to know if we could help support the efforts with Melby,\u201d Rodrigo said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working diligently to try and come up with ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
The funds raised will help cover the cost of Melby\u2019s rescue, his ongoing care and feeding at SeaWorld, and his planned release back into the wild – expected within about a month to a month and a half. A portion of the money will also go toward safeguards to prevent similar incidents in Melbourne Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to help the town so like things like this don\u2019t happen again,\u201d Rodrigo said.<\/p>\n
Jeff Eble with Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, explained how Melby wound up trapped in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason that Melby got into trouble was because there were some gates on the storm water outfall pipes,\u201d he said. \u201cThe pipes, many of them drain into the lagoon because it\u2019s storm water, it\u2019s water runoff, and they\u2019re grated to keep manatees and other wildlife from moving into those pipes and getting into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the saltwater environment slowly eroded the grates over time – and no one realized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, Melby was able to enter a storm water system during a cold snap,\u201d he said. \u201cMelby made a decision to try to find shelter during a cold snap, moved into the storm water system and then unfortunately became trapped, which led to the rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n
At SeaWorld Orlando, Melby is thriving. Elysa Tripp, SeaWorld Zoological Specialist, said Melby has been a standout patient since his arrival.<\/p>\n
Melby the manatee is haling at SeaWorld (SeaWorld)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gained over 50 pounds in the time of him being here. His blood work is getting better and better, so hopefully in the near future he\u2019ll be ready to be returned,\u201d Tripp said.<\/p>\n
Melby is classified as a sub-adult male, weighing just over 400 pounds – still with plenty of growing to do. Adult manatees can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. Tripp described his personality as unmistakably enthusiastic – especially around food.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelby is a very eager manatee who loves eating. Every time we drop any type of vegetation in here, he is going straight for it,\u201d she said. \u201cHe loves his romaine, his kale, his spinach. He doesn\u2019t care what it is, he\u2019ll eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pool where Melby is recovering goes through more than 21 boxes of romaine lettuce alone – plus kale, spinach and iceberg lettuce. Manatees can eat roughly 10% of their body weight each day.<\/p>\n
Tripp said Melby is recognizable by a distinctive white mark on his nose – a superficial scratch from his time in the storm drain that healed with white scar tissue. Notably, he has no scarring from boat strikes.<\/p>\n
Melby\u2019s story has drawn an outpouring of attention from the public, and Tripp said visitors have been coming to SeaWorld specifically to see him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw him swimming correctly, his buoyancy was great, he was eating great – and so we graduated him to these pools. And that\u2019s when the guests came flooding in asking about him,\u201d Tripp said. \u201cThis is Melby. This is the animal that everyone sees. The storm drain manatee.\u201d<\/p>\n
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