A manatee rescued in January in Bonita Springs was released Tuesday after rehabilitation at the Miami Seaquarium.
Breva, who was transported from Miami back to Bonita Springs for her release, was first rescued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission after she suffered from paralysis, weakness and twitching. Experts believed she was affected by red tides, which are blooms of an alga known to cause public health problems and deaths in animals.Red tides are usually found in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the seaquarium.
The 8-foot-long, 900 pound manatee was named after Karenia brevis, the name of the neurotoxin produced by the red tide.
Manatees are also threatened by fishing line entanglement, boats, cold stress, pollution and habitat destruction.
