Rocket the Manatee
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM Save The Manatee Club
May 2019

Rescued as an orphan, Rocky is a manatee success story.

Rocket was rescued as a orphaned calf at Blue Spring State Park in 2005. At the time, he was nicknamed “Tiny” because he was so small. He was taken to SeaWorld Orlando for treatment, where he was renamed “Rocket” because he had been known to “rocket” around the tank during his rehabilitation. When Rocket was released at Blue Spring two years later, he was a healthy 745 pounds and immediately rocketed around the run, living up to his name.

Annie, another Blue Spring adoptee, and Rocket were in the same tank at SeaWorld, and when they were released, they stayed together for about a year and a half. This behavior is unusual outside of mother and calf pairs. But wherever Annie went, Rocket was sure to follow. The park staff called them the “kids” or the “twins.”

Both Annie and Rocket have returned to winter at Blue Spring, although by now, they have gone their separate ways. After staying with Annie in the wild for a year and a half, Rocket went out on his own. He is still small for an adult male and will probably always be that way.

Rocket is available for adoption, and each person who adopts him will receive a full-color photo, biography, and adoption certificate, as well as a membership handbook and subscription to The Manatee Zone, a newsletter featuring updates on the adopted manatees when they are sighted, and Paddle Tales, Save the Manatee Club’s bi-monthly eNewsletter. For more information about adopting Rocket, go to Save The Manatee Club or call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646). 

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