Churro
- Tag Status
- Active
- Last Date Tagged
- January 25, 2024
- Gender
- Female
- Tagging Location
- Blue Spring State Park, Orange City, Florida
A generous contribution from WELL/BEINGS is supporting the tracking of this manatee.
Please note: The presentation of data here does not constitute publication, and the researchers who contributed this data retain all intellectual property rights. Map created by Clearwater Marine Aquarium using Google Maps API. Data & Map © CMA. Use of this map or data without permission is prohibited without the written consent of the researcher. This map is automatically updated with new points each day. The manatee icon location point represents the most recent location received for this manatee. If the most recent point is more than two months old, then the manatee most likely lost their tag ending our ability to track their movement.
Churro’s Story
A 4.5-foot manatee named Churro was rescued with her mom from the northern Indian River Mosquito Lagoon near Edgewater by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Volusia County Marine Mammal Stranding Team on May 21, 2022. Her mom needed rescue assistance due to her injuries received when she was struck by a boat. Both animals were transported to SeaWorld Orlando for critical rehabilitation care. Churro remained alongside her mom throughout her extensive care and surgeries needed for recovery, growing up under the best care they could both receive. Churro and her mom, Reckless, were released together on January 18, 2024, at the Port Everglades discharge canal in Fort. Lauderdale, Florida. CMARI tagged Churro for their Northern Atlantic Coast Manatee Study along the east coast of the United States and as part of a cooperative study with state and federal agencies to assess manatee movement and habitat use as a result of the Unusual Mortality Event. At release, Churro weighed 690 pounds and had grown to just over seven feet long.
Soon after their release on January 18, 2024, Churro and Reckless separated. Due to Churro’s minimal wild experience in the winter, it was determined that it would be better to relocate Churro to Blue Spring State Park, where she could socialize with other manatees and learn where to find a warm water refuge. She was released at Blue Spring State Park on January 25, 2024.
All manatee work was conducted under USFWS Research Permit # MA37808A-2.