The Brevard Zoo is breaking ground on a new manatee rehabilitation center after receiving a state grant and individual donations.
The manatee rehabilitation center funded by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission grant, along with individual donations, will be the first in the county.
It will provide immediate care to manatees in stable condition, but who need additional monitoring or help gaining weight.
The goal is to release all manatee patients back into their natural habitat.
Fewer manatee deaths have been recorded in Brevard this year, compared with historic manatee die-offs there in 2021 and 2022.
Some experts fear that could mean the species has shrunk to only the hardiest survivors.
In other parts of the state, manatees are threatened by red tide. Sixty-five manatees in Lee County have died from red tide this year.
