{"id":8970,"date":"2025-10-17T22:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/8970\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T22:20:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:20:06","slug":"seaworld-orlando-celebrates-conservation-with-first-public-juvenile-sawfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/8970\/","title":{"rendered":"SeaWorld Orlando celebrates conservation with first public juvenile sawfish"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 \u201cTooth\u201d be told, a new marine animal is making waves at SeaWorld Orlando<\/a>. <\/p>\n

For the first time, a juvenile smalltooth sawfish, born at the park, has moved into a guest-facing habitat at the Manta Aquarium.<\/p>\n

Axel is part of a historic trio of sawfish pups born in 2023, a rare and significant event for this critically endangered species, according to a SeaWorld news release. <\/p>\n

Guests now have a rare chance to see this remarkable animal up close, witnessing an inspiring conservation story in action.<\/p>\n

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it\u2019s FREE)<\/a> | PINIT! Share your photos<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment is the culmination of years of collaboration, dedication, and discovery,\u201d said Dr. Dana Lindemann, veterinarian at SeaWorld Orlando. \u201cBy bringing this young sawfish into view, we can inspire future generations, while continuing to advance critical research and contribute to the recovery of this species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sawfish births in human care are incredibly rare. SeaWorld Orlando is currently the only aquarium in the U.S. to care for smalltooth sawfish and just the second in the world to successfully welcome pups. Since their birth in July 2023, the pups have grown to three times their birth length, providing scientists with valuable insight into how these mysterious fish mature and develop.<\/p>\n

According to SeaWorld, smalltooth sawfish once thrived in U.S. waters, but saw their numbers plummet due to habitat loss and accidental catch. They became the first marine fish protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2003. Today, they are mostly found in Florida\u2019s coastal waters, and chances to see one up close are almost unheard of.<\/p>\n

SeaWorld has provided long-term care for adult sawfish, including Axel\u2019s parents, for over 30 years. The park actively participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Survival Plan and works with partners to protect and study these extraordinary animals.<\/p>\n

The move to the Manta Aquarium opens a new chapter in that work, connecting everyday guests with a species most people will never see in the wild while contributing to research that could help secure their future.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 \u201cTooth\u201d be told, a new marine animal is making waves at SeaWorld Orlando. For the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1684,891,28,1335,139,141,140,2043,9026,2411],"class_list":["post-8970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-animals","tag-conservation","tag-florida","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-seaworld","tag-seaworld-orlando","tag-theme-parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970","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=8970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}