{"id":405723,"date":"2026-09-20T22:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T22:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/405723\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T22:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T22:32:12","slug":"lalo-the-manatee-returns-to-the-wild-after-boat-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/405723\/","title":{"rendered":"Lalo the manatee returns to the wild after boat strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 A rehabilitated manatee named Lalo has been returned to the wild following months of veterinary care and surgical treatment for severe injuries caused by a boat strike.<\/p>\n

Lalo was rescued on Feb. 27, 2025, from Hunter Spring Run in King\u2019s Bay, Fla., in a joint effort by SeaWorld and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. At the time of her rescue, she was severely emaciated and suffering from injuries sustained in a watercraft collision.<\/p>\n

Medical examinations and a CT scan identified spinal fractures and multiple bone fragments resulting from the boat strike. Veterinary surgeons successfully removed the bone fragments through a series of operations before transitioning Lalo to long-term rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

SeaWorld Orlando animal care and veterinary teams monitored the manatee throughout her care. Representatives with SeaWorld Orlando detailed the rescue and initial surgical interventions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rehabilitated manatee Lalo returns to the wild after boat strike recovery <\/p>\n

\u201cLalo was rescued by SeaWorld and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Feb. 27, 2025, from Hunter Spring Run in King\u2019s Bay. At the time of rescue, she was severely emaciated and suffering from healing watercraft-related injuries. Veterinary examinations revealed spinal fractures associated with a boat strike. A CT scan identified multiple bone fragments, which were successfully removed during a series of surgeries,\u201d SeaWorld Orlando stated.<\/p>\n

Following the surgeries, care personnel focused on restoring the animal\u2019s health and physical strength. SeaWorld Orlando confirmed her recovery and subsequent return to native waters.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing months of specialized veterinary care and rehabilitation, Lalo made a full recovery and regained excellent body condition. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of SeaWorld\u2019s animal care and veterinary teams, she was deemed healthy and strong enough to return to her natural habitat and was recently released back into the wild,\u201d SeaWorld Orlando added.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 A rehabilitated manatee named Lalo has been returned to the wild following months of veterinary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84418,147,145,28,15748,161184,4134,139,141,140,9026,144,146],"class_list":["post-405723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-boat-strike","tag-central-florida","tag-channel-9","tag-florida","tag-florida-fish-and-wildlife-conservation-commission","tag-lalo","tag-manatee","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-seaworld-orlando","tag-wftv","tag-wftv-channel-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}