Ailing manatee Lorenzo finds care at Jacksonville Zoo

His name is Lorenzo and he just arrived at his third rehab center. He is the first ailing manatee to be rescued and brought directly to the J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River habitat 's Critical Care Center at the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Rescued as an underweight orphaned

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His name is Lorenzo and he just arrived at his third rehab center.

He is the first ailing manatee to be rescued and brought directly to the J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River habitat

's Critical Care Center at the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Rescued as an underweight orphaned calf in November 2024, Lorenzo was brought back to health at SeaWorld Orlando and Georgia Aquarium before being released in February into the Crystal River on Florida's West Coast.

Subsequent monitoring showed he had lost a "concerning amount of weight, so the decision was made to bring him back into rehabilitative care," according to the Jacksonville Zoo.

Ailing manatee Lorenzo is watered down after his arrival at the Jacksonville Zoo's Manatee Critical Care Center. He was the first manatee to be rescued and brought directly to the center.

"The other manatees in our care all arrived after time at other facilities, so this is a big milestone

for our team," the zoo said. "Because he’s coming straight from the wild, he’ll spend time behind the scenes while our team monitors and cares for him before introducing him to fellow manatees Cullen and Francesco for guest viewing."

When initially rescued in 2024, Lorenzo weighted 139 pounds; upon his release, he was up to 612 pounds. His weight on arrival on Jacksonville was not available.

In June the zoo released its first rehabilitated manatee to the Crystal River, an important milestone for the habitat, which opened this year as part of Florida’s statewide manatee rescue and rehabilitation network. The new exhibit included an expansion of the the zoo's existing manatee care center, allowing the zoo to treat as many as 18 manatees at a time.

Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens staff watch ailing manatee Lorenzo swim at the zoo's Manatee Critical Care Center. He was the first manatee to be rescued and brought directly to the center, rather than from other rehabilitation facilities.

Alpine, Francesco and Cullen were on hand for the grand opening.

Alpine was the center's first manatee to be released. He had a history similar to that of Lorenzo, originally rescued as a calf in Crystal River in 2023, rehabilitated by ZooTampa and released to his natural habitat in 2025.

A few months later, low weight led to him being rescued a second time. He received care at SeaWorld before being transferred to Jacksonville for secondary care.

Beth Reese Cravey has been a reporter for The Florida Times-Union for 45 years, currently specializing in nonprofits and health. She can be reached at bcravey@jacksonville.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ailing manatee Lorenzo finds care at Jacksonville Zoo