BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Brevard Zoo is building a manatee rehabilitation center to help the mammals receive care more quickly.

Jody Cassell, the director of conservation at the Brevard Zoo, is leading the effort on the rehab center, which will be the first of its kind in the United States.

What You Need To Know

  • A manatee rehab center associated with the Brevard Zoo is being built near Port Canaveral

  • The facility will help manatees who are not critically ill receive care more quickly

  • A $2 million grant from the FWC and donations will help fund the facility

  • The new center is expected to be completed by the end of the year

Cassell, whose office is filled with manatee memorabilia from décor to her drink cup, said she has wanted to help the manatees since the fifth grade when she was visiting a friend's house.

"And we read the book 'Sam the Sea Cow', and it's about a manatee that gets stuck in a drainpipe, and it has to be rescued, and it goes into rehab and then it was released," Jody explains. "The day I read that book, my life changed, and I wanted to move to Florida and save manatees.”

The nearest such facilities are at SeaWorld Orlando, which is 60 miles away, and in Jacksonville, which is about a two-hour drive away.

"To have a spot here in Brevard, which is sort of the epicenter of so many rescues where manatee illnesses are happening, it's just a solution I couldn't imagine we wouldn't be involved in," Cassell said.

Manatees are dying at a record rate, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission declaring an emergency in 2021. More than 280 manatees died in the county in 2022, but so far in 2023, 12 have passed away.

Ailing manatees whose conditions are considered “non-critical” will be brought to refurbished former sea turtle tanks. For example, the manatees they might need to gain weight or might need to be placed in a holding area until weather conditions are better for their release.

Caring for manatees with those types of ailments behind the scenes at the Brevard Zoo rehab center will also create “bed space” at the other facilities across the state.

"We will find a way to make it forward-facing for our guests and the community and let them see through cameras and be a part of the releases when the healthy animals go back into the wild," Cassell said.

The work will eventually lead to a critical care facility at the zoo's aquarium, which will be built near Port Canaveral.

Cassell said she's in the right spot at the right time.

"It truly is my life's dream to be able to make this work happen," she said.

The new rehab center is being funded with a $2 million FWC grant and donations, and it's expected to be completed before the end of the year.