SeaWorld Rescue, Rehabilitates and Releases A Manatee Named Citron AGAIN
A manatee named Citron was released back into Crystal River on Aug. 27, closing out a recovery that required two separate rescues, multiple surgeries and months of specialized veterinary care at SeaWorld Orlando. Officials with the park announced the release this week.
Citron’s first encounter with SeaWorld’s rescue team came in 2025, when she was found and treated quickly enough that her stay was brief. The more serious rescue came this past January, when she was spotted swimming on her side in Kings Bay, an area of Crystal River known for its manatee population. Veterinarians determined she had a pneumothorax, a condition in which air becomes trapped in the chest cavity after damage to a lung, interfering with a manatee’s ability to control its buoyancy and stay submerged normally.
The second injury was worse than the first. Elysa Tripp, a zoological expert and animal care specialist at SeaWorld Orlando, said in a video posted by the park that this round of injuries, caused by a watercraft strike, was more severe than what Citron had experienced the year before. “She did have multiple procedures, including surgeries, where we had to bring her into the surgery suite, and our vet staff was able to do these procedures,” Tripp said.
Recovery ran for months before Citron was cleared to go home. Before any manatee is released, rescue teams run a full round of physical exams and bloodwork to confirm the animal can survive independently in the wild. Once Citron passed those evaluations, the park’s rescue team transported her back to The Port Hotel and Marina in Crystal River for release, returning her to the same waters where she was originally found.
Citron’s case is one entry in a program with a considerable track record. SeaWorld has operated as a marine animal rescue organization since 1965, and the park says it has now rehabilitated more than 43,000 animals, with Citron among the most recent. “We love Citron, and we’re so proud of all of our work and our ability to help give her that second chance of life, to return her to her natural environment, and to see her nice and healthy,” Tripp said.
Boat strikes remain one of the most common threats manatees face in Florida waters.Kings Bay and the wider Crystal River system are considered some of the most important manatee habitats in the state, drawing both wintering manatees and heavy boat traffic in the same waterways. Wildlife officials routinely ask boaters in the area to observe posted speed limits and stay alert for surfacing manatees, particularly in narrow channels where animals like Citron have limited room to avoid an oncoming boat.
Citron is now back in the water where she was first found unable to swim upright. This time, rescue teams say, she went home healthy.
Sources: Yahoo news, People , Seaworld Orlando
