Six Orphaned Manatee Calves From SeaWorld Orlando Just Flew to Ohio, and Three Now Weigh More Than Eight Times Their Rescue Weight
Celine weighed 48.5 pounds when she was rescued as an orphaned, emaciated calf in August 2025. Her most recent recorded weight is 420 pounds, and this week she left SeaWorld Orlando.
She was one of six rescued manatee calves that SeaWorld Orlando sent to Ohio on Wednesday, October 14, to continue their rehabilitation before eventually returning to Florida waters. Three females, Celine, Poplin and Gingham, went to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Three males, Smidge, Tuglet and Zimomo, went to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
Celine, Poplin and Gingham with Stubby, the Columbus Zoo's resident manatee, after the calves arrived on October 14. Image: Grahm S. Jones/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Why Ohio?
Rescued manatees move through a network called the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP), which works with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Some Florida facilities handle the acute phase, such as emergency veterinary treatment, and others, in Florida and in other states, act as second-stage rehab centers where the animals keep recovering. These six calves had been cared for at SeaWorld Orlando. Columbus and Cincinnati now take over that second stage.
Meet the six
Here is where each calf was rescued and how much it has grown, according to the Columbus Zoo's release:
- Celine (female): rescued August 10, 2025 in the Indian River in Martin County. 48.5 pounds at rescue, 420 pounds now. Columbus Zoo.
- Poplin (female): rescued December 29, 2025 in the Blue Spring Run in Volusia County. 101 pounds at rescue, 304 pounds now. Columbus Zoo.
- Gingham (female): rescued February 3, 2026 from the Eau Gallie River in Brevard County with signs of cold stress. 133 pounds at rescue, 317 pounds now. Columbus Zoo.
- Tuglet (male): rescued March 15, 2025 in the Banana River. 42 pounds at rescue, 365 pounds now. Cincinnati Zoo.
- Smidge (male): rescued April 15, 2025 in Key Largo. 43 pounds at rescue, 353 pounds now. Cincinnati Zoo.
- Zimomo (male): rescued May 27, 2025 in St. Augustine. 47 pounds at rescue, 368 pounds now. Cincinnati Zoo.
Tuglet, Celine and Smidge have each grown to more than eight times their rescue weight, and Zimomo is not far behind.
Care teams with Poplin in a sling during her arrival at the Columbus Zoo. Image: Grahm S. Jones/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
A foam bed and a DHL flight
The crates were heavy enough that DHL Express drew up a special loading plan to keep the aircraft properly balanced, and moving them took specialized forklifts. DHL flew the animals between Orlando and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which the zoo describes as DHL's global hub, and specially equipped trucks run by the zoos and SeaWorld handled the ground legs, according to the Columbus Zoo.
Each manatee rode in a custom-built container with an 8-inch-thick bed of foam. Care teams kept them warm with wool and space blankets, checked their temperatures with laser thermometers and misted them with water under the blankets so their skin stayed moist. Columbus Zoo staff from Animal Care and Conservation Medicine rode along on both DHL Express flights, monitoring the animals' health and comfort throughout the journeys.
A surrogate mom waiting in Columbus
In Columbus, the three females share a facility with Stubby, a longtime resident who often steps in as a surrogate mother for younger manatees, according to the zoo. Stubby was hurt in a boat strike and is considered conditionally non-releasable.
Celine and Poplin in the pool at the Columbus Zoo. Image: Grahm S. Jones/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
In Cincinnati, the three males are in the zoo's Manatee Springs habitat. "We are excited to follow Hundo's journey back to his native Florida waters and ready to begin the rehab process for the three new calves that are now in Manatee Springs," said Kim Scott, the Cincinnati Zoo's curator of mammals.
Four going the other way
The calves' flight was one half of a swap. On Monday, October 12, four manatees rescued earlier began their trips from Ohio to Florida. Redrock, Rosalyn and Erie went from the Columbus Zoo to the East Coast Zoological Foundation's Manatee Rehabilitation Center at Brevard Zoo, and Hundo went from the Cincinnati Zoo to the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Their release into Florida waters is anticipated this winter.
One of the four returning manatees is lowered into a pool at Brevard Zoo. Image: SeaWorld Orlando
Redrock shows how long that road can be. She was rescued as an orphan in the Indian River Lagoon in May 2024 at 49 pounds, and she weighed 528 pounds when she was transferred back to Florida this month, nearly two and a half years later.
What happens next
No release date has been announced for the six calves. FOX 35 reports it was "not immediately clear" how long they will stay in rehab. Counting Redrock, Rosalyn and Erie, 45 manatees have gone back to Florida from the Columbus Zoo since its Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Center opened in 1999. Over the same span, Cincinnati has taken in 38 manatees and helped return 31 to the wild.
SeaWorld Orlando has also sent other rescued manatees back to the wild recently. We covered Citron's release in August and Lalo's return, which SeaWorld announced in September.
Which calf name is your favorite: Smidge, Tuglet or Zimomo?
Sources
- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, "Four Manatees Head to Florida for Final Stages of Rehabilitation as Six More Arrive at Ohio Zoos for Care" (October 14, 2026)
- Richland Source, "Columbus Zoo welcomes 3 new manatees from SeaWorld Orlando" (October 14, 2026)
- Scioto Post, "Ohio Zoos and Conservation Partners Coordinate Major 10-Manatee Transfer" (October 14, 2026)
- FOX 35 Orlando, "4 rescued manatees return to Florida to be released into the wild" (October 14, 2026)
Image credits: Grahm S. Jones/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (Columbus arrival photos); SeaWorld Orlando (Brevard Zoo pool).
