SeaWorld Orlando's Animal Rescue Team returned a manatee to the St. Johns River in Blue Spring State Park this morning. First, he was prepared to be transported from SeaWorld Orlando where he had been rehabilitating.

Thursday morning (August 2, 2012), SeaWorld Orlando’s Animal Rescue team traveled to Merritt Island, Fla. to return a rescued manatee and her two-week-old calf to their natural environment.

This morning, SeaWorld Orlando’s animal rescue team returned its fifth manatee of the year into the waters at KARS Park in North Merritt Island, Fla. Claire, a 750-pound female, was rescued last June from the Cape Canaveral area after being hit by a boat.

Following months of rehabilitation at SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue Team returned Mardi, a juvenile female manatee, back into the waters near Jacksonville, Fla.

This morning SeaWorld Orlando’s animal care team traveled to Satellite Beach, Fla., a warm-water site, to release two manatees into a side canal off of the Banana River. Both animals were rescued and transported to SeaWorld Orlando last winter by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), who was also on-site assisting with today’s release.

Yesterday morning, SeaWorld Orlando's animal care team assisted Lil Joe the manatee back into the waters of Lake Dexter in Astor, Fla.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go on a manatee release? Here's a peek into yesterday's release.