(From heraldtribune.com)- A young female manatee found entangled in rope, crab traps and a channel marker surely felt a weight lifted from her shoulders Wednesday morning when biologists released her back into the wild. “She”s a very lucky girl,” said Lowry Park Zoo veterinarian David Murphy, watching as the sea cow disappeared into the Alafia River near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Frannie was among a record number of manatees recovering recently at the Tampa zoo”s Florida Manatee and Aquatic Center.”She”s a valuable animal because she”s a female, and they really support the manatee population,” Murphy said. “And because she”s a youngster, she likely has 40 years ahead of her to produce a lot of babies.”
(By YVETTE C. HAMMETT THE TAMPA TRIBUNE)