Rehabilitated Manatee, Flapjack, Released In St. Petersburg: FWC

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A rehabilitated manatee was recently released in his natural habitat in St. Petersburg waters, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission wrote in a Facebook post.

Flapjack the manatee, who was rescued from a retention pond system in April, spent several months at SeaWorld for rehabilitation.

He was brought to the Eckerd College campus and was released by a team from SeaWorld, Clearwater Marine Aquarium and FWC in front of a crowd of campers and supporters.

He was first rescued in 2021, when he was spotted “in poor body condition” in the Weeki Wachee River and weighed only 225 pounds, FWC said.

He was brought to ZooTampa at Lowry Park, where he recovered and his weight increased to more than 700 pounds by the time he was released in September 2022.

The FWC team found him again in April, when he became trapped in a retention pond system in Clam Bayou in St. Petersburg.

“Thanks to PIT tags equipped during his last rescue and release, which work similar to pet microchips, the manatee was scanned and identified as Flapjack,” the agency said. “These PIT tags allowed our team to quickly identify and access vital information to make the best decision for the health and well-being of manatees in need. Good luck, Flapjack!”