ZooTampa’s baby boom: Historic manatee birth highlights latest conservation wins

TAMPA, Fla. - ZooTampa at Lowry Park welcomed several newborn animals this year, including a rescued manatee's calf and a critically endangered Eastern bongo. 

ZooTampa animal conservation efforts

What we know:

ZooTampa at Lowry Park say they welcomed a female manatee calf named Beatrix, marking the park's first manatee birth in more than 10 years. Her mother, who remains in critical condition following a watercraft injury in the Manatee River, is bonding well with the newborn while animal care staff monitor both closely. 

The facility also celebrated the birth of Liberty, a female Eastern bongo calf born on July 3 weighing 38 pounds and standing two feet tall. The zoo says this birth marks the seventh Eastern bongo delivered at the zoo over five years for a species with fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild because of habitat loss and poaching.

Additional zoo births this year

By the numbers:

The park's current baby boom includes multiple new animals born across several species: 

• 1 female manatee calf
• 3 Eastern bongo calves
• 2 southern white rhinos
• 2 impalas
• 2 nyalas
• 4 Bali mynah chicks
• 3 African spoonbill chicks
• 6 green-naped lorikeet chicks

Wildlife protection and breeding

What they're saying:

"The births of these species, many of which are listed as critically endangered, endangered or threatened, highlight the Zoo's ongoing conservation efforts and commitment to saving species," ZooTampa said in a statement. 

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