Older Manatee Enjoys New Home With Lots Of Friends After Months Alone In Pool

Two manatees transferred out of an embattled South Florida aquarium earlier this month are settling in well at their new home at a Tampa zoo.

“Elderly and overweight manatees Romeo and Juliet” are “gradually acclimating to their new environment,” said a statement from ZooTampa sent to HuffPost on Thursday.

The marine mammals, now both in their 60s, had been at the Miami Seaquarium since 1956, according to The Guardian . In recent weeks, Romeo, in particular, became the subject of a campaign from animal advocacy group UrgentSeas, which characterized his life as “complete isolation in an ever deteriorating concrete tank.”

Romeo had been kept in a small pool by himself for months, according to a Department of Agriculture report cited by The Washington Post . It noted that manatees are “semi-social animals” and that marine mammals known to be social “must be housed in their primary enclosure with at least one compatible animal of the same or biologically related species.”

In November, UrgentSeas posted now-viral footage showing Romeo floating listlessly in a dirty-looking pool. Juliet lived in a different enclosure with another female manatee, Clarity, who has since relocated to SeaWorld Orlando.  Romeo and Juliet were moved together to ZooTampa .

The chief veterinary officer for The Dolphin Company, which owns the Miami Seaquarium, told the Post that the business “did everything to assure the best of the best” for the animals, which eventually meant relocating them. 

The company is also suing UrgentSeas cofounder Phil Demers, alleging defamation and trespass over his social media posts, according to The Tampa Bay Times .

On Friday, UrgentSeas posted a video showing Romeo and Juliet swimming in their new digs, along with other manatees and at least one sea turtle.

Previously, Romeo “was in solitary confinement and circling the drain,” the group wrote. “But now he has lots of friends, is thriving and exploring his new world.”

Though UrgentSeas thanked everyone involved in the manatees’ “amazing rescue,” the organization also expressed a desire for the marine mammals to be moved, ultimately, to a sanctuary.