MIAMI – After months of rehabilitation, workers at the Miami Seaquarium released a manatee named Meeka back into the wild.
Meeka was rescued six months ago after she suffered five broken ribs, scrapes from boats and closure wounds.
"Obviously she was suffering, but through our staff we were able to give her the things that she needed to let her to heal," said Miami Seaquarium curator Robert Rose.
Miami Seaquarium has three rehabilitation pools for injured manatees. Meeka spent her time recovering in one of the pools, where she initially weighed a little over 300 pounds. She is now at a healthy 650 pounds.
Meeka was lifted out of her rehabilitation pool by a crane Wednesday morning and safely transferred to her natural habitat.